The Fire Within
by measuremesky
Summary: Kai is having difficulty letting go of his past with Skylor-the decision to write to her is still up in the air. But during his embarrassing trip to the grocery store, Kai meets another girl, who makes his life slightly more complicated. Takes place after season 4.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, readers! Lately I've been kind of been obsessed with the show Ninjago on Cartoon Network, especially since the fourth season came out, which, by the way, is absolutely amazing. If you're wondering why I haven't posted more chapters on my other stories in awhile, this is partially the reason. I had an idea for a Ninjago fan fiction, and here is! I currently have seventeen pages of this story already collecting dust on my computer, so I thought I might as well post it. So anyways, hope you enjoy it, and I promise I will update my other stories too soon!**

"Hey Kai, give me my controller back!" Lloyd shouted as he chased the red ninja around the living room. The two teammates had been playing video games-something to pass the time while the other ninjas were training with Sensei Wu. Well, technically, Cole was having an individual training session with Wu while Jay was helping Nya fix some computer glitch in the Bounty's control room. And Zane, because he had worked so hard that week, Sensei had given him the day off, and he had decided to spend it out in Ninjago city, exploring the shops and anything else one could enjoy in a city.

Kai chuckled as the younger ninja pursued him. Lloyd might have grown since Garmadon had revived the Grundle, but he would always be the older brother.

"Sorry bud, you got to catch me first!"

He heard the green ninja protest behind him, which only made him laugh even more.

"Haha, very funny," Lloyd said, trying to keep up with the older ninja.

"It is."

Lloyd chased the ninja around the couch multiple times, never seeming to get any closer to snatching the controller from him.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that, Green Ninja!"

Finally, after ten minutes of pursuing Kai, the blond stopped.

"I...will...get...you...for...this," Lloyd muttered, struggling to catch his breath.

No longer hearing the younger ninja's footsteps behind him, the red ninja paused, smirking at his victory.

"That'll teach you to mess with the ninja of fire."

He turned around to further antagonize Lloyd, only to find the green ninja was nowhere in sight. Kai frowned.

"Where did he go?" he wondered aloud. "Lloyd. Lloyd!"

Little did he know that when his back had been turned, the younger ninja had taken the opportunity to hide behind the couch, and was now waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

"Lloyd! Where are you?" the red ninja called again.

Lloyd stifled a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand so Kai didn't hear him. This was going to be so good.

"Lloyd!"

While Kai was facing the opposite direction, Lloyd emerged from the back of the couch and climbed up on top of it, balancing himself on the back rest.

"Lloyd! This isn't funny anymore!"

Miraculously, Kai was still turned away from the couch, which was going to be a big mistake on his part as far as the green ninja was concerned. He waited until Kai took a step backwards, closer to the couch, then in one swift motion, Lloyd jumped and flew off the back rest of the couch.

In that second, the red ninja turned around to see Lloyd in the air, but by that time it was too late. Before Kai could move out the way, Lloyd had landed on top of him, tackling his teammate.

"Give me the controller!"

Lloyd reached for the game controller, but Kai was putting up more of a fight than he had expected. The red ninja held the controller out in front him, preventing Lloyd from grabbing it.

But Lloyd was persistent. The younger boy lightly strangled his teammate, hoping that Kai would drop the device.

"Hey, quit it!" Kai yelled. "Get off me!" His plan to torment the young ninja had gone horribly wrong.

"What is going on in here?!"

Kai and Lloyd froze from their fighting to see Sensei and Cole standing over them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sensei demanded. He and Cole had finished Cole's training session, just to return to see two of his other students wrestling each other on the floor like little kids.

"If I'm not mistaken, Sensei, Kai got his butt kicked by the Green Ninja," Cole joked. Kai scowled at the black ninja's comment. To this day, he was still teased for thinking he had been the green ninja.

"Shut up, Cole!"

"Oh, a fight! Let me watch!" another voice interjected.

The blue ninja, none other than Jay Walker entered the room, along with Nya, who had just finished repairing the computer.

Nya saw the ninjas on the floor and rolled her eyes. She could guess what they had been up to.

"Boys," she muttered under her breath.

"Would either of you mind explaining to me why you are on the floor?" Wu asked. The Sensei was secretly amused, however, he felt he had to maintain a stern composure as the young men's (and woman's) teacher.

"Kai took my controller, so I gave him a taste of his own medicine," Lloyd said.

"Not even!" Kai argued. "You barely touched me!"

"Says the one who was whining and begging for mercy!"

"Enough!" Wu shouted. The two ninja ceased their bickering and looked up at their teacher. "Get up boys," he ordered.

"Yes Sensei," the two ninjas echoed sheepishly.

"Oh, they're in trouble…" Jay mumbled just loud enough for Kai and Lloyd to hear, who both shot the ninja of lightning a glare.

"How are you going to punish them, Sensei?" Cole asked. He loved Wu's cruel yet creative punishments when they weren't meant for him, and especially if they were Kai's.

Sensei Wu thought for a moment. "I will not punish them. However...Kai…" The fire nina's ears perked up at his name. "...I have a task for you."

Kai eyed the martial arts teacher suspiciously.

"What kind of task, Sensei?"

"A daunting one, my pupil," Sensei answered. "Only the bravest, most ambitious, responsible ninja can complete this task efficiently."

"Aw, but I'm responsible," pouted Jay. He could feel himself growing envious that Kai had been the one chosen to fulfill Sensei's request. Wu nodded

"Indeed you are, Jay, but I think Kai is the most deserving of it at this moment."

Sensei dug into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "This will have everything you need in order to complete your mission."

He handed the piece of paper to Kai, who began studying it carefully.

"What does it say?" Jay asked excitedly.

Kai read some of it aloud to the rest of the ninja. "Bread...cheese...laundry detergent-hey this is a grocery list!"

"Exactly," Sensei said. The other ninjas chuckled quietly behind their teacher.

"Oh man, Kai's been demoted to grocery boy," one of them whispered to the other.

"But what about Lloyd?" Kai said, ignoring his brothers' remarks.

"Lloyd will stay here to train," Wu said. "He needs the practice."

"Ooh! Burn!" Jay exclaimed. Lloyd silently glowered at the blue ninja. Just because he was slightly younger and less experienced, it didn't mean he couldn't kick his butt.

"Though some may need the practice more," Sensei added, looking directly at Kai.

"Double burn!" Jay exclaimed. "Someone just got roasted!"

"Don't forget I can roast your sorry butt if I wanted to!" Kai retorted.

"Enough," the martial arts teacher said for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He supposed he should've seen it coming when he decided to take in four young men who were barely in their twenties and still had the raging hormones of teenage boys, and maturity of them too. And now he had five.

"Kai, go pick up those groceries now."

The red ninja sighed; there was no way he was going to get out of this one.

"Fine," he said.

Shoulders slumped, he stuffed the list into his pocket and began walking towards the exit of the Bounty. When he reached the door, he turned and gave his teammates and teacher a final salute.

"I'll be back...if I don't get mobbed by all of my crazy fans."

When they heard the door shut, Sensei turned to Jay.

"Jay, I would like you to clean the dishes before he gets back."

The ninja of lightning stuck his bottom lip out in protest.

"Why, what did I do?"

Lloyd, who had been listening to the conversation, smirked at the at the blue ninja's expense.

"Who's laughing now?"

Sensei Wu shook his head at the boy' antics, and decided it would be a good time to intervene.

"Come on, Lloyd, let us train."


	2. Chapter 2

"Ugh, why do they always gang up on me?" Kai grumbled to himself as he made his way to the nearest grocery store.

Eventually he stopped in front of Joe's Finest Foods, where the ninjas had gotten most of their groceries since they had returned to Ninjago City.

The red ninja stared up at the sign with disgust. He hated shopping for groceries, which was probably why Sensei put him up to it, as punishment for tormenting Lloyd and messing around when he should've been training. He glanced inside the store windows and saw the swarm of customers bustling about, kids tugging at their mothers' sleeves pleading to buy this or that, high-strung dads who just wanted to pay for their groceries and get home, and teens who were there only to pass the time but not without causing a disturbance of some kind.

"Let's just get this over with," he said.

Inside, the store was even busier than Kai had expected. Long lines of people were waiting in the checkout lanes, all of which were open. That did not include the employees who were frantically running about, struggling to keep things operating smoothly.

"Great," the ninja mumbled. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out the list Sensei had given him. There were about ten items on the list, most of which were food items, including Cole's favorite food of all time: cake.

"Something tells me Sensei had help making this list," he thought, mentally rolling his eyes at the earth ninja.

The first item on the list that was non food related was laundry detergent, so Kai decided to retrieve that first. He made his way over to the cleaning aisle, and found a jug of WhiteBright, the only laundry detergent that Zane insisted on buying, saying it was the most effective at cleaning his uniform. Kai picked the product up and placed it carefully inside the cart.

"One down, nine more to go," he said aloud, trying to reassure himself that the trip wasn't going to be as excruciatingly painful as he imagined it to be. It would be over soon enough.

The next item on the list that was non food related was...toilet paper. Kai stared at the list like it was about to eat him. How embarrassing, now he knew why Sensei had picked this shopping trip especially for him. A sense of panic started to overtake him as he envisioned the look on the cashier's face when he or she saw one of the famous ninjas buying such an undignified item. But if they were running low on the unmentionable, then he had no choice but to get some. Even ninjas have to use the baño.

Grudgingly, Kai made his way the paper products aisle, where his favorite item, stacked in neat packages, waited for his arrival. There were so many different options to choose from, the packages' labels mocked him as he stood there, clueless as what kind he should buy. It wasn't like he had memorized what kind of toilet paper they got. Sensei or Zane, even Nya did most of their shopping anyways. After examining the different brands and types, Kai thought heck with it and finally settled on the generic brand Joe's Ultra-Soft, which was also the cheapest as well.

The red ninja attempted to pick up the bulky package, but it was heavier than he had originally thought. Being made of cellophane,the package slipped out of his hands like butter, and rolled onto the floor, stopping near the end of the aisle. The ninja silently cursed, then went to retrieve his merchandise.

After eyeing the package suspiciously, Kai bent over to pick up the item a second time. It was still no lighter than when he had initially tried to carry it. Who knew toilet paper could be so heavy? The ninja of fire thought to himself. Unfortunately, the weight of the package was only part of the problem. Since the package was so huge, he could not see where he was going-his view of sight was completely blocked off and was replaced by Joe's Ultra-Soft logo, displayed proudly right in the ninja's face.

He slowly walked towards the cart, relying solely on memory to guide him.

Suddenly, the ninja felt himself bump into something. At first, he assumed it was the cart, but when an oomph shortly followed, he knew he was in trouble.

"Oops, sorry."

He carefully lowered the packaging slightly and lifted his chin in order to see who he had bumped into.

It was a young woman, about his age. From what he could tell, she had a rounded face and light hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Cute. He thought about using one of his infamous pickup lines, but then he remembered what he was carrying.

The ninja felt his face turn a crimson shade of red, and not because he was the red ninja. He was utterly humiliated.

"I-I'm so sorry, ma'am, it was totally my bad."

The girl smiled at him, causing him to blush even harder.

"It's okay."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, allowing awkward silence to start filling in the empty space. Kai chuckled nervously, praying that she didn't think he was a total loser. Of all the places, a girl had to catch him in the toilet paper aisle. His mind was racing; he needed to say something.

"...Good, because I wouldn't wanna be charged for TP assault."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth he mentally smacked himself on the forehead for sounding so stupid. He cringed, anticipating her reaction. However, the girl didn't glare, frown, or respond negatively in any way. Instead, she laughed, a warm, sincere laugh that rung throughout the aisle.

"It's fine," she said

The two stood in silence once more before Kai spoke up.

"Well, I should probably get back to my shopping, have lots of shopping to do."

He walked over to what he identified as his cart, and dropped the wretched toilet paper in the basket, his tired arms instantly relieved of the heavy burden.

"Yeah, I probably should too," the girl said.

Kai smiled at her, making sure he didn't stare, and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"And, um, sorry again for running into you. I can be a little clumsy sometimes."

The girl returned the smile. "Me too."

With a small wave, the girl took her shopping cart and left the aisle in search of her next item. As she walked past Kai, he noticed a giant blue bag was sitting in her cart, an item that seemed awfully familiar to him. He craned his neck to get a better look, and saw that the item was indeed what he had suspected: marshmallows. They weren't just any marshmallows, though, they were BUNNY's marshmallows, Jay's favorite. But those had disappeared off the market months ago, the reason being no one actually bought them. Every store they had been to within the last few months no longer carried it, including Joe's Finest Foods. _Well, it looks like they're selling them again_, Kai thought to himself. _Jay'll be happy about that_.

When she was out of earshot, Kai lightly slapped himself across the face for acting so foolish in front of the girl. "Great job Kai," he said. "Now she probably thinks I'm a complete idiot now." Granted, he knew it could've been much worse, but he felt he could've handled it a lot better. And he honestly believed there could not have been a more perfect time for him to meet a cute girl than when he was getting toilet paper. He really hated grocery shopping.

He glanced at the list again and saw that all the non food items had been acquired. The other eight items left on the list were all food, including Cole's cake, Lloyd's potato chips and soda, and Sensei's favorite tea, zen. He noted that he should also probably get Jay a bag of those marshmallows. Make that nine food items. When you were living with seven, no, six other people, then he guessed you needed enough food to feed everyone, and that it disappeared quickly.

The items listed that were not for a specific person and that they needed in general included bread, cheese, and deli meat for sandwiches. Something simple they could make after training or whenever they needed a light meal to tide them over. He supposed that he would get those items first before obtaining the items for particular people.

Shortly thereafter, Kai had found the bread and cheese, and was heading toward the deli part of the store. If he wanted fresh meat, he would have to wait in line, something he was severely dreading. _Hope I don't have to wait too long._ Long lines were not the impatient ninja's friend, that was for sure.

Thankfully, the line didn't appear to be very long. There were only about four people ahead of him, which he didn't think was too bad. While he was waiting, he saw the girl he had bumped into earlier picking up some fresh vegetables. He realized he probably shouldn't have been staring in case she thought he was a creep, but it was hard for him to look away. And he couldn't deny that a part of him wanted her to notice him.

Soon enough, he got his wish. When she was done picking vegetables, the girl turned around and caught his gaze, causing the ninja's heart to jump. Without thinking, he waved at her, not knowing what else to do, which made him feel silly. But like before, her demeanor was friendly. She returned the wave, then went back to her shopping, but her response was more than enough for Kai. He hadn't completely blown it yet.

"Can I help you sir?" a gruff voice broke through his thoughts. Kai turned his head to see that all the other customers ahead of him had left, creating a giant space between him and the deli counter. Standing behind the counter was an older man in his forties, sporting a short and stubbly beard as well as a large stain on the front of his shirt. His dark, greasy hair was messy and unkempt, like he hadn't bathed in a few days or so.

"Um..." the ninja glanced down at the list. "...I need a quarter pound of ham and half a pound of turkey."

The worker studied Kai for a moment, sizing the young male up, before he answered.

"Sorry, we have no more turkey left in stock. The last pound was just sold to the lady in front of you." He sounded less than sympathetic.

Kai looked at the man like he had grown two heads. He quickly shook his own, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

"I'm sorry, it sounded like you said there wasn't any."

The man frowned. "Because I did."

Kai's jaw dropped; this had to be some kind of joke.

"You gotta be kidding."

The man rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed with the ninja's oblivion.

"Sorry, kid. First come, first serve."

Since he really had no other choice, the red ninja sighed.

"Fine, just give me the ham then."

After his great experience in the deli department, Kai went to retrieve the other grocery items. The first thing he picked up was the bag of marshmallows, knowing he would've forgotten them if he didn't. At this point, he was convinced there was some big conspiracy working against him. Every time he made a trip to the grocery store, nothing good came out of it.

One by one, the ninja collected each item: Lloyd's chips and soda, Sensei Wu's tea, and last but not least, a piece of cake for Cole from the bakery, which he passed by on his way to the checkout. Technically it was a package of cupcakes, but he doubted Cole would care. Cake was cake.

After reviewing the list one final time, Kai went to the checkout. The lines were not as long as when he came in, but long enough that he didn't want to wait. He was determined to get out of this place as fast as possible. At the end of the rows of numbered aisles, he noticed the self checkout line was practically empty. How convenient.

The ninja casually strolled to the line, feeling relief starting to wash over him. He was almost done-he could leave, then he would never have to deal with this ever again-well, at least until the next time Sensei sent him shopping. Kai scanned each item first, then put all of the items into plastic bags. The act was tedious and repetitive, not to mention plain boring. He would hate doing for a living.

When Kai had finished bagging all of his items when something caught his eye. A blue package was sitting on the edge of the counter of the checkout. BUNNY's marshmallows. The ninja stared blankly at the package until he remembered where he had seen them, or more specifically, the girl who had been carrying them. Kai's initial thought was that the girl had left them there, but he knew that it just as well could've been someone else. But who else ate those things besides Jay? It had to be hers. Something in his gut told him so. He had to return them to her. But there was one small problem: he didn't know where she lived, let alone who she was.

His aching arms reminded him that he was carrying about thirty pounds worth of groceries. He had to get back to to the Bounty soon. The others were waiting for him. _I'll figure this out later._

Without thinking, he stuffed the marshmallows into his own shopping bag, gathered his purchases, and left the store. Freedom at last.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm back!" Kai announced as he stepped into the living room, where Jay, Cole, and Zane, who had returned from his day of traveling, were sitting on the couch. Jay and Cole barely noticed Kai enter the room; they were too engrossed in their video game to care about anything else going on around them. However, Zane smiled at his friend, he had to admit he was starting to get tired of watching his brothers beat each other mercilessly on the screen. Video games strangely became boring when you were not the one playing.

"Hello, Kai," the white ninja said. "I see you have made a few purchases."

"Yep. Wasn't too happy about it though."

"That is too bad. I would say my day was quite enjoyable. I strolled through the park for a little while, then visited the Ninjago City Museum of History. It was very fascinating indeed."

While he listened to the nindroid relay his day's adventures, Kai set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter.

"Sounds like you had a lot more fun than I did. I was stuck shopping for groceries."

Zane frowned. "No, that does not sound very fun at all."

"I know, right? How come I don't get a day off? I need a vacation too."

"I believe it it is because you spend most of your time staring at yourself in the mirror or playing video games with Jay, Cole, or me, or in today's case, tormenting Lloyd just for fun."

"You know about that?"

"Jay told me when I found him washing the dishes."

"Jay was doing the dishes?" The concept was completely foreign to the red ninja. Jay rarely did chores, unless he was asked by Sensei Wu, otherwise, nothing would get done. And even when he was told to, he'd keep finding interesting ways to get out of them. So when he actually did do them, it was kind of a big deal.

The white ninja nodded.

"Yes, as punishment for mocking you and Lloyd."

An amused smirk crept across the fire ninja's face.

"Really? Finally that clown gets what he deserves."

"Hey, I heard that!" Jay's voice echoed throughout the room, his eyes still glued to the screen.

Remembering what he had bought the blue ninja, Kai dug into one of the shopping bags and pulled out the package of marshmallows.

"Hey Jay, I got something for you."

Like a small child, Jay's head snapped at the sound of his name and looked at his brother, who was holding something behind his back.

"What is it?" he asked excitedly.

Kai smiled and held out the bag of marshmallows, causing Jay's eyes to light up like a Christmas tree.

"BUNNY'S marshmallows?!" the blue ninja exclaimed.

"Yeah, I found them when I was at Joe's Finest Foods."

"They're carrying them?"

"Apparently."

The ninja of lightning beamed with delight. "This is so awesome! Now I actually have something to put in my hot chocolate."

Suddenly, the ninjas heard the door open, only to see Sensei Wu, followed by Lloyd, who had beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Ah, I see you have returned." The red ninja nodded.

"Yes, Sensei, and I got everything you asked for...well, almost everything. They ran out of turkey."

Sensei Wu put a hand on his student's shoulder.

"That's quite alright, Kai. In fact, you fared better than I thought you would."

On the other hand, Lloyd, who saw that the older ninja had returned from his shopping trip, ran over to the kitchen table where Kai had left the grocery bags and began rummaging through them.

"Did you get me my-"

"Yeah, I got you your chips and soda."

"Sweet."

"Speaking of sweet," Cole interjected from the living room. "Did you get cake?"

The ninja of fire nodded, then pulled out the package of the cupcakes.

"I got cupcakes, just for you."

Cole's eyes widened, and practically jumped out of seat and ran into the kitchen where the others had gathered. It may have been Kai's imagination, but he swore he saw the earth ninja drooling at the sight of the frosted treats.

"Thanks, buddy," Cole said as he eagerly took the package of cupcakes from Kai, who chuckled at his brother's excitement.

"And may I ask," Zane started, "is there a chance you purchased the WhiteBright I had requested?"

"Sure did."

"Wow, Kai, I'm surprised. I didn't think you'd last a second in a grocery store," Jay commented as he tore open the bag of marshmallows and began stuffing them into his mouth.

"And you got everything we asked for," Cole added.

Zane nodded in agreement. "I am impressed as well."

The red ninja grinned proudly, clearly pleased with himself.

"Why, you don't think the ninja of fire can pick up a few little groceries by himself. Pssht please."

Lloyd subtly rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. However, Sensei smiled at his student.

"I agree, Kai has completed his mission well."

"We should celebrate!" the black ninja said. "I'll make some some of my famous chili, then we'll have cake afterwards."

None of the others were too keen on coughing down Cole's chili. At the mention of it, the others made a face.

"No!" they shouted. Out of all the ninjas, Jay looked the most disgusted.

"Leeet's just order pizza."

Seeing all others were in agreement, Cole sighed in defeat. "Fine."


	4. Chapter 4

Jay Walker woke to the shrill sound of the alarm clock blaring in his ears. It was 6:00am. Training started at seven.

"Ugh," he groaned as he covered his head with his pillow. "Five more minutes."

One by one, the ninja began to stir after hearing the dreaded sound of the alarm, however, no one made the effort to actually get up.

Kai started throwing various objects at the alarm, hoping to shut it off, but the ninja's aim was less than accurate. "Turn it off!"

After about ten minutes of grumbling and complaining, Sensei Wu burst through door of the ninjas' bedroom.

"Get up ninja! Training starts in fifty minutes!"

A series of protests resounded in response to the sensei's command.

"Oh the humanity!" Lloyd whined.

"Enough," Wu said. "As ninja, it is your duty to make sure that you are in optimal fighting condition. Evil does not rest."

"How can evil do that? I can barely function with five hours of sleep. I need my sleep." Cole said.

"Then might I suggest turning in earlier," the teacher replied, narrowing his eyes at the ninjas. "...so that you are able to rise earlier if need be."

"Come on, Sensei, I had to finish that level!" Jay said. "I was so close to reaching the end-I had to defeat the boss."

"I understand, Jay." The sensei truly didn't, but he knew he was an old man, and that he tended to perceive things differently than the young adults. "However, the safety of Ninjago comes before recreational entertainment. It does not change our training time. I believe you are familiar with the saying 'the early bird catches the worm.'"

The five ninjas stared at him blankly. He wasn't sure if they had actually heard the saying before, or if they were simply trying to be difficult. Either way, it was wasting time.

"...Never mind. I shall see you all on the deck in forty five minutes." And with that, Sensei Wu left the room, leaving the ninja to prepare for their long day ahead.

When they heard the door shut, the ninjas glanced at each other expectantly. No one wanted to get up, but someone had to go first. Sharing a bathroom with four other people was difficult, especially if time was limited.

The blue ninja was the first to speak up. "I'll go first," he declared.

It made sense, since Jay usually took the longest, besides Kai that is.

In the bathroom, Jay started his early morning routine. He splashed cold water on his face, then got out the toothpaste from the cabinet and his toothbrush, which was sitting in a blue cup on the counter along with a green, red, black, and white cup. The ninja hummed a little to himself as he began brushing his teeth. The whole routine relaxed him. It was weird for him to think that his day started off with something simple like brushing your teeth, and then before you knew it you could be fighting snakes or a whole skeleton army. Needless to say, Jay found comfort in the normalcy of a morning routine.

Outside, the other four ninjas were waiting patiently to use the bathroom. Lloyd and Zane had managed to pull the covers off of them, but Kai and Cole were still lying contently on their beds.

"I think I will make some breakfast for us all," Zane declared, "in order to help motivate us for the day ahead."

The other ninjas nodded eagerly. They loved Zane's cooking, especially when it was for breakfast.

"Ooo! Could you make blueberry waffles? I love those!" Cole exclaimed.

"Certainly," the white ninja answered. "Are the rest of you okay with that?" he asked, motioning towards Kai and Lloyd.

"Yep."

"Sure."

Seeing that the others were in agreement, the nindroid smiled.

"Then I will start making them right away."

The ninja of ice left the room, leaving Kai, Cole, and Lloyd to wait in line for the bathroom.

The red ninja put his hands behind his head, trying to work up the strength to get up.

"What's taking Jay so long? For the ninja of lightning he's extremely slow," Kai said, earning a chuckle from both Cole and Lloyd.

"Yeah except when he's talking," Lloyd muttered.

Their laughter was silenced when they heard a loud screech coming from the bathroom.

"KAAIIII!"

The ninjas froze and glanced anxiously at one another, not having the slightest idea as to what set the blue ninja off.

Cole and Lloyd turned to Kai, who wore a sheepish expression.

"Ok, Kai, what'd you do this time?" Cole said mockingly.

The red ninja glared at his teammate. "Nothing, I swear!"

Suddenly, Jay burst out the bathroom, holding, you guessed it, a roll of toilet paper. He stomped up to Kai's bed and held the toilet paper directly in front of the red ninja's face.

"What is this?" the ninja of lightening demanded.

Kai, who did not appreciate having a roll of toilet paper inches from his head, couldn't muster up an appropriate response.

"Uh...toilet paper?" he said, not quite sure what answer the blue ninja was expecting.

"Yeah, the wrong kind!" Jay retorted. "This," he said, holding it closer to Kai's face making him flinch, "is not Navy toilet paper."

Finally, Kai couldn't stand it any longer and sat up, shoving the roll away from him.

"No, it's not," he said. "I got the generic brand, Joe's Ultra Soft." He wasn't sure what the big deal was and why Jay was making such a fuss.

"You what?! That's the worst kind!" the blue ninja shrieked. "The generic brand is always the worst!"

"Why? What's wrong with it?" He asked, feeling the heat in his cheeks rise.

"What's wrong with it," Jay echoed, "is it's too thin, too flimsy, and not soft. I was chafing because of this!"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, maybe it was because you were, you know, rubbing too hard?"

"Absolutely not!" Jay argued. "I treat my backside like royalty, thank you very much."

Lloyd and Cole, who were watching the scene unfold in front of them, were stifling laughter at the red ninja's expense.

"Hey Jay," Cole said in between chuckles, "cut the man a little slack."

"Yeah, in my defense the list didn't exclusively say what brand to get," Kai said.

"But it's the brand we've always gotten!" Jay exclaimed.

"He does have a point there," Lloyd mumbled under his breath.

While all of this had been going on, Zane, in his oblivion to the conversation in the ninjas' room, had just finished making the waffles, and was now setting them on plates. The scent of freshly-made waffles filled the ship, traveling all the way to the ninjas' room. Cole was the first to smell them.

"Yo guys, all this arguing has been fun, but I'm starving."

The other ninjas sniffed the air, filling their noses with the intoxicating aroma. Breakfast was definitely ready.

"Did Zane make food?" Jay asked, momentarily forgetting about the toilet paper, realizing that the white ninja had been absent the entire time.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, he made waffles."

"What kind?"

"Blueberry."

The ninja of lightening beamed. "That's my favorite!"

The other three ninjas exchanged knowing looks, aware that the topic of waffles had completely distracted Jay.

By this time Cole had gotten up, the smell of Zane's cooking being motivation enough for him to climb out of bed.

"Well, I'm not waiting any longer, so let's go eat," he said, more than eager to get himself a generous helping of waffles. "Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!"

"You're on!" Kai challenged.

Jay scoffed at the others-they did not stand a chance against him. After all, he was the ninja of lightning for a reason. "You better believe I'm gonna get there first!"

Lloyd playfully rolled his eyes. "No way!"

"On the count of three," Cole said. "One...Two...Three..."

"Ninjaaago!" The four ninjas cheered as they raced to the kitchen, ready to indulge in a good, homemade breakfast.

When they reached the kitchen, the ninjas were greeted with the delicious treat stacked on five plates belonging to a newly set table, each aligned with five sets of forks and knives, with butter and a bottle of syrup in the center.

"Woah buddy, you really outdid yourself," Cole said, his mouth watering at the sight of the prized batter cake. As expected, the white ninja had baked the waffles to perfection: golden and crispy, with just the right amount of blueberries mixed in.

The four ninjas took a seat at the table, and without hesitation, began diving into their meal. Zane's back was still turned to them, obviously in the midst of preparing another food item, and pretty soon the ninjas heard the sizzling of something in the skillet.

"Is that bacon I smell?" the earth ninja asked enthusiastically while chewing a mouthful of waffles.

"Indeed," the white ninja answered.

Within minutes, Zane set out a plate of fried and crispy bacon. "I hope this is acceptable," he said.

"Are you kidding?" Jay exclaimed. "This is great!"

Zane received many thank-you's, which he graciously accepted as he sat down to eat himself. "I am glad you all are enjoying it."

While the ninjas were busy finishing their meal, Sensei Wu walked into the kitchen.

"What's all this?" he asked, surprised to see his students feasting on such a large quantity of food so early in the morning.

"Zane made food," Kai said, dribbling a generous amount syrup on his waffles.

"Did he?"

"Yeah, and it's really good," Cole said, still scarfing down his breakfast as if it were his last meal.

"I see. That was very generous of you, Zane," he said, motioning towards the nindroid, who politely nodded his head, acknowledging the compliment. "I am sure you will all be ready for training in fifteen minutes?"

"Of course, Sensei," Jay replied, reaching for another slice of bacon.

"I'll be ready, I just need to use the bathroom," Lloyd said, standing up, excusing himself from the table. Taking a waffle with him, the blond disappeared into the hall, leaving to freshen up before training started.

The casual mention of the bathroom made Jay suddenly remember the problem he had encountered earlier regarding the toilet paper.

"Speaking of the bathroom..." Jay started.

Kai groaned, face-palming himself in the process. He knew what the blue ninja was about to say. Of course Jay hadn't forgotten about the stupid toilet paper.

"the toilet paper that Kai bought...stinks."

"Stinks?" the sensei repeated, confused.

"Yeah! Kai here decided to buy the generic brand instead of the real kind!"

Sensei frowned. "Everyone knows you cannot buy the generic kind if you are seeking quality."

"That's what I'm saying!"

Kai watched his brother and martial arts teacher animatedly discussing the quality of bathroom tissue, becoming increasingly annoyed by the former's dramatics. It was toilet paper for crying out loud!

"Jay, if you're so fed up about the whole TP thing, why don't you just go buy some yourself?" It made sense. He was the only one making a fuss about it, so he was perfectly capable of getting a different kind if it bothered him that much.

"You know what Kai? I will! I'll go the store and get some, right after training."

"Actually..." Sensei Wu interjected, "...perhaps it would be best if you went to the store now. I will delay training until after you get back."

"What?!" Kai exclaimed. Sensei delaying training? For toilet paper? Ridiculous!

"And Kai," Sensei motioned towards the red ninja, "I want you to accompany him."

Kai's jaw practically dropped to the floor. Was he crazy? This had to be some kind of joke! It was bizarre! And now he was being forced to go with the one who was causing all the mayhem in the first place?! Absurd!

The red ninja crossed his arms in defiance.

"Nuh-uh. There is no way you can make me go with that clown all the way back to store just to pick up more TP. I barely survived the last time."


	5. Chapter 5

"You just had to bring up, Jay," Kai grumbled as he and Jay entered Joe's Finest Foods.

"Hey, good toilet paper is a necessity of you want a clean and non irritated behind," the blue ninja stated firmly, taking the concept of bathroom tissue a little too seriously in Kai's opinion.

The red ninja twisted his face in disgust at Jay's comment. "Okay, That's more information than I needed to know."

The two ninjas made their way to the paper products aisle, where the valuable item was still stacked in neat packages, with various sizes and brands to choose from.

"Hmm...where is it? Where is it?" Jay wondered allowed, scanning the rows of bathroom tissue like he was in the middle of an Easter egg hunt, struggling to find the last precious egg filled with candy and other treats inside.

Within seconds, the blue ninja saw what he was looking for. "Aha! Found it!" he exclaimed, picking up a package of Navy toilet paper.

The fire ninja simply rolled his eyes. "Great...can we leave now?"

"No way, we're gonna need more of this stuff. You're gonna have to carry one," the blue ninja declared, shoving the bulky package of toilet paper to into Kai's hands.

Of course Kai wasn't very happy about lugging toilet paper around the store for the second time this week, but he supposed that if he did this one more time he'd never have to do it again, and it would finally put an end to this craziness.

"If it will stop all this nonsense, then I'm all for it."

Pretty soon, the two ninjas, each carrying a pack of the superior brand of toilet paper marched to the checkout, bulky packages in hand. "Excuse me, pardon me, coming through," Jay kept repeating as he skillfully avoided bumping into people.

On the other hand, Kai was having more difficulty in not running into people. "Excuse me, sorry ma'am, pardon me sir," he said as he and Jay bravely made their way to the checkout. Kai cringed every time a passerby glanced at them, praying his face wasn't turning red with embarrassment.

To the red ninja's relief, he and Jay finally reached the checkout. Pretty soon, they would be out of here, and Kai would never have to walk through another toilet paper aisle again. He was sure that after the last time, no one would trust him enough to purchase decent TP.

The ninjas set the packages on the conveyor belt, their arms relieved of the heavy weight. While the cashier rounded up the price, Jay turned to Kai.

"You're paying for this, right?"

The red ninja stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

"Well, you were the one who bought the faulty paper in the first place," Jay said matter-of-factly. "And gods know I'm never using that stuff again."

The red ninja sighed. Jay did have a point there. However, he had been put through an indescribable amount of pain and embarrassment trying to obtain the original package of toilet paper, that was nowhere near worth the two current packages combined. On top of that, he had been forced to go to the store and Jay was the one who had dragged him there.

Either way, it was a no-win situation.

"Half?" The red ninja suggested. "I'll buy one package, you buy the other?"

Jay thought for a second. "Fine," he said.

Kai rummaged through his pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed Jay a twenty, who took out his own wallet and extracted a twenty and gave the money to the cashier.

While Jay was paying the cashier, Kai looked around, observing the swarm of customers coming in and out of the store, wondering what the appeal of it was. He scanned the checkout lanes (which actually weren't too busy that day), and that's when he saw a familiar head of blonde hair a couple aisles down from him, speaking with one of the cashiers. Why is she here? The girl wasn't carrying any groceries, and from her expression, she wasn't there just to chat with the employee. She almost looked concerned about something, a look that was all too familiar to him…

He didn't have much time to think about it because within the next minute or so, the blue ninja had made their purchases and was now ready to head back to the Bounty, with the right brand of toilet paper in their possession.

"Let's go," Jay said, noticing his brother spacing out next to him.

Snapping out of his trance, Kai picked up one of the packages of toilet paper and began to follow Jay, who so conveniently started walking in the opposite direction of the girl. The red ninja suddenly became of aware of this and, without dropping the bulky package, carefully nudged his brother.

"What?" Jay asked, his view of his teammate obstructed by the large package of Navy.

"I think we should go this way," Kai said, motioning towards the other exit closer to the girl.

"But our dragons are parked closer to this exit," Jay said. "Unless you feel like carrying this stuff a farther distance," he added, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Weren't you the one who wanted to get out of here as a fast as possible?"

"Just trust me, Jay," Kai insisted, a sense of urgency in his voice. The red ninja didn't really feel like explaining why he wanted to use the other exit so badly.

Nonetheless, Jay agreed. He was clueless as to what was so special about the other exit, but he decided not to question it. Arguing with Kai was like arguing with a concrete wall—it never caved in unless it was hit by something extremely powerful.

When they neared the exit to the store, Kai purposely slowed down. He tilted his head slightly, trying to overhear what the girl was saying.

"…I left them here yesterday…" he heard her say to the cashier.

The red ninja's eyes widened. He had totally forgotten about the marshmallows. And now she was looking for them?!

"What's the hold up, Kai?" Jay demanded, stopping behind his brother. Geez, was that guy out of it today.

Kai shut his eyes in frustration, wishing he had brought the bag of marshmallows with him. That would've given him an excuse to talk to her.

"…you can grab another package…" the cashier said.

"Thanks."

That's when the ninja's head shot up. Oh no, there was no way he was going to let her get another bag, a new bag of marshmallows, and let the opportunity slip past him. He was going to return them to her even if it meant running home and coming back. Right now, they were sitting in the pantry of the Bounty, hiding behind a package of cheese balls and other starchy food items that Lloyd had wanted. He had hid them there on purpose, so that Jay wouldn't have seen them. Was he going to let all that effort go to waste?

_It's now or never, Kai_, he thought to himself. He was the ninja fire; he could do almost anything if he set his mind to it. And right now his mind was on the girl. And marshmallows.

"Hey, Kai, where you going?" the blue ninja asked, sensing that his brother was not about to walk towards the exit. However, Kai ignored him, and took a step forward in the girl's direction. Adrenaline coursed through his veins—both his mind and his heart were racing. _Now or never...now or never..._

"Actually," Kai said aloud, forcing the words out of him.

The girl turned around to see a young man with brunette, spiky hair walking towards her, carrying a large package of toilet paper in his arms.

The red ninja paused when her eyes landed on him, but since he had gotten her attention, he knew there was no turning back.

"I-I have them...the bag of marshmallows. That's what you're looking for isn't it?" he asked the young woman as he approached her.

The girl's eyes widened, staring dumbfoundedly at the young man. It was the same guy she had bumped into yesterday, or rather, he had bumped into her, when he had been carrying...toilet paper.

"Yeah..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say. "...and...you have them?"

"Uh, yeah, I found them when I was checking out, and they were sitting on the counter," he explained. "I knew they were yours, because, when I, uh, ran into you yesterday, I saw the bag in your cart, uh, not like I was snooping or anything, uh, I mean..."

The girl smiled, trying to suppress a laugh. Seeing how unnerved the boy was only confirmed her belief that he wasn't a threat of any sort. He was actually kind of cute when he was flustered.

"Buying toilet paper again?" she asked, changing the subject.

Remembering what he was carrying, the ninja blushed in embarrassment, realizing he had been in this situation before.

"Uh, yeah," he said, then quickly set the package down on the floor next to him. "Anyways..." He cleared his throat, trying to maintain his composure. "...I have them. They are at my house, well, I guess you could call it a house."

He glanced at the girl, who was watching him with a confused expression.

"It's a ship."

"Ah." The girl nodded. She thought she had seen a vessel of some sort, hanging suspended in the air on occasion.

"Me and my buddy Jay live there," he explained, motioning towards the blue ninja, who was curiously watching the conversation unfold from a few feet away. "As well the other ninja. And our sensei." He was careful about not making the term sensei plural.

"Oh..." After hearing the term ninja, she now knew who he was. "You're one of the famous ninja who saved our city from the Anacondrai."

She had heard about the attacks on the villages that horrible day, when it seemed as though hope had been lost, and Ninjago was doomed to fall. However, the ninja hadn't let them down, and Lord Garmadon, who had sacrificed himself for the city, and his son, Lloyd, who had bravely led the attack against the wretched snakes, were labeled as heroes.

"Yep, that's us," he declared, the memory still vivid in his mind.

Although they had won the war, Kai had lost some as well: his sensei, and his friend Skylor, who had politely declined his offer to join the team, so that she could continue her father's business. He hadn't heard from her since they had parted ways, and since then, he hadn't brought himself to write to her. Nonetheless, he thought of her from time to time. He wondered how she was doing, if she ever thought of him, and, most importantly, if she had found someone else. Someone to replace him...

"So the marshmallows are at your house, right? Or ship I should say," the girl said, noticing the ninja had gone silent.

Kai shook his head, freeing himself from his thoughts.

"Yeah, um, I can go get them if you want."

The girl thought for a moment. Honestly, she could have easily gone to the baking supplies aisle and grabbed a new bag of marshmallows if she had really wanted to. But then again, he seemed like a nice guy, and if he was willing return them to her, she supposed she'd let him. However, she didn't want him to go to all that trouble for just a bag of marshmallows.

"How about we meet somewhere?" she suggested. "You can give them to me then."

The red ninja was slightly taken aback by her offer, but since it was, indeed, her bag of marshmallows, he'd allow her to call the shots.

"Uh, sure. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

"Well," she said, struggling to form words of her own, "you could meet me at the park tomorrow. Say two o'clock maybe?"

"Perfect," he said. Sensei usually gave the ninjas an hour break in the afternoon if they were working hard, so he figured that wouldn't be a problem. "So...I guess I'll see you there?"

The girl nodded. "You will."

Her smile was so contagious.

"Alrighty. It's a date then." He froze, realizing what he had just said. "I mean, not a date, just two friends getting together, I mean, we're not friends yet but I hope we can be..."

This time, the girl didn't suppress her laughter. Instead, she released a warm, cheerful laugh, one that Kai secretly found attractive.

"Yeah, me too," she said. Truth be told, she had already developed a certain degree of fondness for the young man, who was apparently a ninja.

They were about to part ways when a thought suddenly struck the red ninja.

"Hey, I never got your name," he said. He was surprised he hadn't asked sooner, for now he had a desire to put a name to the face.

She gave him another warm smile. "Samantha," she said. "But you can call me Sam."

"Sam," he repeated, letting the name roll of his tongue. "I like that."

The girl, now known as Sam, felt herself blushing at his comment.

"Well, I'd better get going," she said. She hated to end their conversation so abruptly, but like the ninjas, she had a deadline as well. She had a class that started in half an hour, and she still had to grab her books from her dorm room before she went. Plus, the grocery store was not exactly the ideal place for conversation, and if they wanted they could talk more at the park tomorrow

"I'll see you tomorrow. We'll talk more then," she promised.

Kai smiled at her, feeling himself becoming more excited about their "date."

"Great. I can't wait."

She gave him one final wave as she started heading towards the exit, which he happily returned.

After the girl had disappared out sight, Jay walked up to him, seeing his brother smiling as though he had won the lottery.

"What was that about?" Jay asked. "Do you know her?"

"Now I do."

Kai knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't care. The red ninja couldn't believe his luck. Twice she had caught him with the dreaded toilet paper, yet it hadn't fazed her at all. She even agreed to go out with him. A cute girl with a cute name-Sam, had agreed to go out with him. Granted, it was only because she wanted her marshmallows back, but that counted for something, didn't it? She could've simply bought another bag, but she had decided to wait for him to give them to her. That meant she didn't think of him as a total loser, despite how lame he had felt carrying the package.

The bottom line: he hadn't completely blown it yet. If he wanted to cultivate a friendship or maybe something more with her, then he still had a chance to so. The question was, was he going to take it?


	6. Chapter 6

The journey back home had been an interesting one for the red ninja. Kai explained everything about his first encounter with the girl to Jay, who was chuckling like mad at his story.

"Even after that, she still wants to go out with you?" Jay said in between bouts of laughter.

Kai frowned, trying to hide the blush that was creeping across his face.

"We're not 'going out', Jay. I'm simply giving her back what I found at the checkout. That's all."

"Whatever you say. I'm just saying that meeting at the park does sound like at date. Nya and I used to go there all the time," the blue ninja said matter of factly. He paused when he saw Kai glaring at him."Uh, with your permission of course."

"Mhm, sure."

"We're back!" Jay announced as he and Kai returned to the Bounty.

They entered the kitchen to see Sensei Wu, Nya, Zane, playing with a deck of cards at the table. Hearing footsteps, the three glanced up to see their teammates (and pupils) arrive with brand new packages of toilet paper.

"Ah, I see your mission was successful," Sensei said, nodding approvingly at the two ninjas.

"Yep," Jay announced proudly.

"Did you get any more cake?" a voice called from across the room. They turned to see Cole was in the living room, lounging lazily on the couch, Lloyd was playing video games. The latter's face was twisted in concentration, paying no attention to what was going on around him.

Kai smiled. "Sorry Cole, just got the TP."

"Did you get the right kind this time?" Nya asked, narrowing her eyes at the red ninja. She wanted to double check because if anyone, her brother would be the one to make the same mistake twice.

"Actually, sis, I did," Kai said, setting the package of toilet paper on the counter. "Two packages of Navy. Just what you asked for."

"Don't worry, I made sure he got the right kind," Jay piped in, not letting him get all the credit. "That Joe's Ultra-Soft was awful."

The red ninja rolled his eyes at his team mate's remark, which was clearly directed towards him.

"We get it Jay, it was bad."

He knew he was still being blamed for the whole incident, even though it wasn't completely his fault, since the brand name wasn't even mentioned on the list. A part of him wanted to make another snide comment, but he knew it was best to let it go. Like all brothers, Jay was doing it to annoy him, and he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.

"Well, now that you are back, I suppose we should begin training," Sensei said, trying to redirect the ninjas' attention.

"Sure thing, Sensei," Jay said a little too enthusiastically.

In the living room, Cole stretched his arms above his head.

"I could use some exercise," he yawned, yet did not make any attempt to get up.

"Just let me finish this level," Lloyd spoke for the first time since the two ninjas had returned.

Sensei sighed; it seemed harder to get the boys moving these days.

"Let's go, ninja," the martial arts teacher said. "Although evil has decided not to present itself, you still have a responsibility to fulfill."

"Coming, Sensei!" the green ninja said, abruptly standing from his sitting position on the floor. He had obviously just finished the level he had wanted to complete.

The martial arts teacher slowly moved towards the door that led up to the deck of the Bounty.

As usual, Zane was the first to respond to the sensei's orders as he followed the martial arts teacher to the deck of the airborne ship. Next was Lloyd, followed by Cole, who had finally regained enough energy to get off the couch. Jay brought up the rear, and then there was Kai, who trailed behind the rest of them.

"Training actually sounds fun compared to what I've gone through today," the red ninja muttered.

"Wow, that was a workout," Jay said as the five ninjas went to the kitchen. "I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life."

The ninjas had trained for the rest of the morning into the late afternoon, with very few breaks in between. Sensei thought it would be good for the ninjas to push themselves harder today after all the inactivity they had had within the past week.

Lloyd grimaced at the blue ninja's comment. "Okay, that's more than I needed to know."

Cole, (disregarding his brother's sweat comment), nodded as he reached for the refrigerator handle. "I agree. I think I've worked up quite an appetite."

"Well don't ruin your appetite before dinner," another voice piped up.

Nya was standing in front of the oven, stirring something up in a pot on the stove. Ingredients were spread out across the counter: sesame oil, canola oil, chile paste, garlic, chicken breasts, soy sauce, onions, cabbage, carrots, and a box of noodles.

The black ninja sniffed the air. "Something smells good, Nya."

Nya turned around and smiled at the ninja.

"I'm making Yakisoba chicken," she said. I've never made it before but I thought I'd try it."

"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it's delicious," Jay answered as he rummaged through the pantry. "Nya actually makes good things. Unlike Cole."

This earned a couple of snickers from the other ninja, and an angry glare from the earth ninja himself.

"Hey! My cooking isn't that bad," he argued.

"I do believe Nya's cooking is more than satisfactory in comparison with Cole's," Zane said, agreeing with Jay. "He should learn to mix the ingredients in such a way that they are edible. Other than that, I am sure his cooking skills are quite average."

Cole, assuming that Zane's analysis was a compliment, pat the nindroid on the back. "Always the honest one, aren't you Tin Can?"

Meanwhile, Jay continued to rummage through the pantry, trying to find a little bit of sustenance to tie him over before dinner.

"The only thing in here is chips," Jay groaned as he stumbled across a package of Doritos. "Anyone want these?" he said, holding out the bag for the rest of the ninja.

"I'll take those," Lloyd said, eagerly taking the package from the blue ninja. "I've kinda grown out of my craving for sweets." The younger ninja ripped open the package and began munching on the chips happily, which made the blue ninja even hungrier.

"Ugh, there's gotta be something," Jay said, continuing to search the panty. "I wish I hadn't eaten all those-" He gasped as he stopped searching and froze, his eyes resting on a package of an unknown item.

"What? What is it?" Cole asked, alarmed by Jay's reaction.

Kai, who had been watching his brothers banter from afar, slapped his forehead in exasperation. He had a fairly good idea of what his teammate had found.

Sure enough, the ninja pulled out a package of marshmallows, identical to the ones Kai had given him yesterday. He held it up for the rest of the ninja to see, while he gave Kai a dirty look.

"You didn't tell me you got a second bag of these!" he exclaimed, looking directly at the fire ninja.

"That's because I didn't want you to know."

Jay still wasn't listening. "We had these the whole time and you didn't tell me?!"

"Yes, Jay, I purposely hid them from you."

The rest of the ninja, including Nya, were confused.

"What's so special about a bag of marshmallows?" Nya asked, looking up from chopping vegetables.

"Because they're not his."

It was then that Jay put two and two together.

"Wait, these are_ her_ marshmallows?" Jay asked, staring at the package in disbelief.

Kai suddenly felt self-conscious, seeing that all the other ninja and his sister were watching him intently.

"...Yeah," the red ninja replied. "I'm supposed to give them to her tomorrow."

"Ya know, she could've just bought another one," the blue ninja stated matter-of-factly.

"Well, she didn't, so don't touch them," Kai retorted.

"Hold up, I'm confused," Cole said. "Who is she?"

"_She_ is no one, _Cole_."

"Woah, Kai, why are you being so defensive?" Lloyd asked, a small smirk forming on his face. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"What does she look like?" Cole asked, curious as to who this mysterious girl was.

"That's none of your business."

"That means she's an alien," the black ninja said.

"No she's not. I could tell you since I was there," Jay announced proudly.

Lloyd's eyes grew wide.

"You saw Kai's imaginary girlfriend?"

"Oh no, she's not imaginary. She's-"

Kai gave the blue ninja a fierce glare, daring him to finish explaining.

"She's what? Just spill the beans already," Cole said, desperate to find out more about the girl that Kai was so reluctant to talk about.

"We already know it's a girl, Kai, so you may as well just tell us," Nya said. Although she would never admit it, Nya was curious as to what was so confidential about this particular stranger.

"Okay, enough!" Kai said, with a voice that made everyone in the room freeze. He guessed he should explain so everyone would stop asking questions. "I bumped into this girl yesterday at the grocery store." He purposely left out the part about the toilet paper. "She left her marshmallows at the cash register. I saw her today looking for them, and I told her I'd give them back to her. That's all."

The ninjas took a moment to process this information.

"How do you know she left marshmallows. Were you stalking her?" Lloyd asked. He truly didn't care nor did he think that Kai was stalking her. He just wanted to pull the red ninja's leg a bit, as payback for stealing his controller.

"Of course not! I'm not creepy!"

"I do not believe that is Kai's style. He is much too impatient to engage in an act such as stalking," Zane joined in. This earned several laughs from the other ninja. Whether Zane was intentionally being humorous or not was unclear. However, Kai interpreted it as humor.

The red ninja sighed.

"Very funny, Zane."

"Good one!" Cole jabbed the nindroid in the ribs.

Kai rolled his eyes at his brother's antics. Clearly no one had anything better to do than make fun of him and press him about his nonexistent secret girlfriend. She was just a girl that he had just met by chance at the supermarket. And tomorrow he was simply going to gibe her back her marshmallows. No feelings, no strings attached. To be honest, he didn't have any feelings for anyone else besides Skylor. While she had said goodbye to him a few months ago, he, you could say, still held a torch for her. And she had said to write, which he hadn't gotten around to yet. He would, though. Within a week, Sam would be nonexistent to him and the other ninja, completely wiped from all their memories. He would just have to get through tonight and tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Dinner that evening was interesting, to say the least. Throughout the entire meal, Kai kept shooting glares at Jay, or anyone who tried to bring the girl up in front of Sensei. Cole only tried once, while Lloyd was braver and attempted to bring up the girl twice.

"Wow, this is amazing, Nya," Jay said, trying to ease the tension off himself caused by Kai's evil looks.

"Thank you, Jay," Nya said, pleasantly surprised by her boyfriend's compliment. "It's nice to get some credit around here."

However, Cole's mouth was too full to make any positive comments about the meal. Words were not needed to show that he enjoyed her food.

Lloyd, on the other hand, was more focused on tormenting his older brother. "Kai, remember when you bought the wrong kind of toilet paper. That was funny." A part of him hoped that humor would cure his brother's sullen mood, but it only seemed to make matters worse. Compared to Lloyd, the looks that Jay received were happy compared to the daggers that Kai sent in the green ninja's direction.

While Kai's looks were subtle they did not go unnoticed by Sensei Wu. The martial arts teacher observed Kai throughout the meal and noticed the red ninja appeared to be on edge. Something was definitely on his pupil's mind. Nonetheless, it was probably best to let the ninja work out whatever was bothering him by himself. Still, it didn't keep him from wondering. If it was something one of the other ninjas did to him, he wouldn't be surprised. Like siblings, if he kept the ninja close together for too long without something to keep them occupied, conflicts were inevitable.

"Dinner was excellent Nya," Sensei said, standing up from his seat. "I am going to meditate now. Goodnight ninja."

"Goodnight Sensei," everyone but Kai echoed.

"I shall see you tomorrow for another day of vigorous training."

And with that, Sensei disappeared into the hall.

"I should probably get to bed too," Kai said. "Have to prepare for all that training tomorrow."

The other ninja and Nya eyed him curiously, noticing his strange behavior. Before anyone could comment, Kai stood up from the table and disappeared into the hall, leaving the others to talk amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Sensei had just finished lighting his candles when he turned around to see a figure in front of him.

"Kai!" he exclaimed, realizing who the outline belonged to. "You must not sneak up on an old man like that."

"Sorry, Sensei," the red ninja said apologetically. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Ah, always the impatient one," the martial arts teacher said, noticing especially how quick to the point Kai was this evening.

Kai sighed, remembering the joke Zane had made earlier.

"Yeah..."

"What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"A couple things," Kai answered.

The martial arts teacher nodded. "Sit down."

Obediently, Kai sat down on the floor with his teacher.

"First of all," Kai said. "I was wondering if I could take a break from training, say about two in the afternoon."

Sensei frowned. "For what reason?" he asked, surprised by his pupil's odd request.

"To return something," Kai answered.

Sensei nodded, still not fully understanding the red ninja's dilemma.

"To whom may I ask?"

"Someone I bumped into at the grocery store."

Kai's responses were very short and clipped, causing the sensei to believe he was not seeing the full picture.

"And is this person female or male?"

The red ninja groaned. He had hoped that his teacher wouldn't ask so many questions, especially that one.

"Female," the ninja of fire muttered.

"I was just inquiring," Sensei said, pouring a cup of tea. He handed the cup to Kai, then poured one for himself.

"Why does it matter?" Kai asked.

"Because," Sensei said, taking a sip of tea. "I would like to know how important this person is that you would miss valuable training time."

"It would be during break time, though, so I technically wouldn't be missing anything," the red ninja said matter-of-factly. He would be lying if he said Sensei didn't make him feel a tad bit guilty for ditching training.

"Yes, but that does not guarantee that you will be back before training resumes," Sensei replied. With his comment, the red ninja was silent.

"What is it that you are returning?" the martial arts teacher asked. Truth be told, he was very interested in Kai's sudden problem.

"Marshmallows," Kai mumbled. The ninja of fire braced himself for his teacher's criticism, but it never came. Instead, the sensei followed up with another question.

"Where will you be meeting?" the sensei asked.

"Um, the park," Kai replied, wondering how this was relevant to the situation.

"Interesting," Sensei answered.

The red ninja looked at him questioningly but the martial arts teacher did not further elaborate.

"What was your second question?" Sensei asked, catching his pupil off guard.

"Um, well, I was going to ask..." Kai started, feeling a bit flustered. "...what do you do when...when you think you may like someone but you're not willing to let go of the past."

The martial arts teacher narrowed his eyes at the ninja of fire.

"That is a very specific question."

Kai stared down at his lap, feeling more than slightly embarrassed about what he was about to admit to his teacher.

"Well, the thing is, she is female, and I don't like her yet, but I'm afraid that if I see her again that I will. Because after all, she is cute, and she is nice, and I don't want to fall into that trap again."

"Trap? What makes it a trap?" Sensei asked, trying to delve deeper into his pupil's mindset.

"It's just that, ever since Skylor..."

"Ah, Skylor. That is what has been troubling you."

Kai shook his head. "No, it's not her. Well, it is. But it's not her fault," he said. "I just don't want to fall for somebody, only for them to leave."

Sensei nodded. He was now starting to understand the root of Kai's problem.

"As I recall, you asked Skylor to join the team, yet, she declined. She has a responsibility. Just like you do," he said, referring to Skylor's choice to run her father's noodle shop.

Kai sighed. "Yeah, but-"

"Have you written to her?"

The ninja paused. "Well...no...but-"

"Maybe you should try writing to her."

"It's just that...I'm afraid to."

The sensei tilted his head curiously.

"Why is it that you are afraid?"

"Because I'm afraid that if I write to her, I'll find that she doesn't feel the same way. Or the magic will be gone."

Sensei nodded, taking a moment to process the information.

"Kai," he said, "what I have learned is that people come into our lives for a reason. And when their time is up, a new person comes along."

"What does that mean?" Kai asked, knowing the answer already.

"It means that if you and Skylor are meant to continue to be close, then you will be. If not, then you will not."

"Way to simplify things," the red ninja muttered.

"Life is never that simple," Sensei said. "However, it is best to allow for things to unfold as they were meant to. You cannot control another person's destiny, let alone their choices."

The martial arts teacher met his pupil's gaze.

"If Skylor is your destiny, then fate will bring you together one day. In the meantime, get to know the girl from the grocery store. You might be surprised."

Kai's stomach dropped, as he knew what Sensei meant. "Surprised about what?"

The sensei held up his hand as though to silence the red ninja. "You will know in time," he said. "That is all I will say."

The martial arts teacher stood up, causing Kai to stand up as well. The sensei put his hand on his pupil's shoulder.

"Now, you must rest," Sensei said. "Put your mind to rest, and your troubles aside. They will be there in the morning."

"Wow, thanks for the encouragement," Kai said sarcastically. While his problem wasn't completely resolved, he was able to joke about it now after talking it out with his teacher.

"Anytime," the sensei said. "I need my rest too, you know. I'm no spring chicken like the rest of you young ninja."

Kai chuckled. "Alright, Sensei. And thanks." The ninja walked towards the door.

"I am happy to help. Just no more setting up dates during training time," Sensei said from behind him.

Kai turned around to look at his sensei, feeling the heat in his cheeks rise.

"It's not a date, it's just..." He sighed, there was no use trying to explain. "Okay, I promise. Goodnight, Sensei."

"Goodnight, Kai. I shall see you five in the morning."

The red ninja nodded, then headed to his room to try to get some rest for the long day ahead of him. For awhile, the ninja laid awake, staring at the ceiling. All the other ninja had fallen asleep, therefore, he couldn't talk to anyone. Thoughts of Skylor and what Sensei had said flooded his mind. However, eventually he fell asleep, with thoughts of Sam and their 'date' being the last thing he remembered before drifting off into a deep sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

"Come on Kai, let's go!" Jay banged on the bathroom door. "Other people need to use the bathroom too!"

"I'll be done in a sec!" Kai called back. However, seconds turned to minutes as the rest of the ninja waited impatiently for their teammate to finish up.

Finally, after five minutes of waiting, the red ninja emerged from the bathroom.

"What happened, Kai, did you fall in?" Cole teased.

Kai scoffed. "Ha, no. I'm way too smart for that." The other ninja had seemed to have forgotten about his little 'date', later on, which was fine by him.

"My turn!" Jay said as he raced into the bathroom. Because of Kai, the blue ninja had less time than usual to prepare himself for the day ahead.

About an hour later, all the ninja were downstairs, muching on cereal. Since there was no one designated to make breakfast today, it was a casual meal.

While the ninjas were eating, Sensei appeared. "Are you all ready for training?" he asked.

"I am ready," Zane said, taking his bowl to the sink.

"Pretty much," Cole answered. "Just let me use the bathroom." The earth ninja quickly stood up and disappeared into the hall.

Suddenly, Jay froze, about to take a bite of his cereal.

"Uh, guys?" he asked. "Did we put the new toilet paper on the roll yet?"

The ninjas and Sensei glanced anxiously at each other. Apparently no one had replaced the toilet paper in the hall bath yet.

Lloyd smirked. "We'll know when he comes out."

"Kai, you must focus more," Sensei said.

The ninja had not been training for fifteen minutes, yet Kai already appeared to be losing his battle with Lloyd.

The red ninja rubbed his head after the blow his opponent had just made. Fighting against the younger ninja certainly wasn't getting any easier. The green ninja seemed to be getting stronger every day. Kai missed those days when he could kick his younger teammate's butt single-handedly. However, especially today, the opposite was true.

"Come on, Kai, I know you're stronger than that!" Lloyd said from across the deck. The younger ninja stood in a defensive position, waiting for the red ninja to retaliate.

Kai grunted, his head still throbbing.

"Maybe I'm just having an off day," he said, not really wanting to bother with training at the moment.

"I think it's because he has other things on his mind," Jay said, watching from the sidelines. He nudged Cole, who was sitting next to him, trying to get a reaction.

Unfortunately, the earth ninja had problems of his own. Little had he known that the toilet paper in the hall bath had not been changed, and as a result, Cole had come out of the bathroom with a rash on his behind, which was extremely uncomfortable.

"Mhm," was all the black ninja had to say before he grimaced in pain while trying to shift his weight on the hard wood of the deck.

Kai glared at the blue ninja, who quickly put his head down in order to avoid any confrontation from his hotheaded teammate.

_You just had to bring it up, Jay,_ Kai thought to himself. He glanced at Sensei, who gave him a nod, as if to encourage the ninja to keep going.

Kai sighed, knowing he would draw more attention to himself if he didn't follow through with the battle.

Taking a moment to prepare himself, the red ninja took a deep breath, then ran at Lloyd.

Fortunately for him, the green ninja knew how to use this move to his advantage. He had learned the technique to wear your opponent out without actually laying a finger on them, something his father had taught him before he...left.

Lloyd shook his head, snapping himself out of his train of throughly, and in one swift move, stepped out of the way at the last second before Kai could land a punch.

Unable to stop himself, the red ninja ended up running into the side of the deck. The rest of the ninja, including Sensei, winced in pain upon the impact.

"That is going to leave a mark," Zane said, who had been watching the battle from the corner of his eye while he was training by himself near Jay and Cole.

Kai, feeling a surge of pain hit him, fell backwards and onto the ground. His head wasn't the only thing hurting anymore. He looked up to see Sensei and the others standing over him.

"Why am I seeing double of you guys?" Kai said, clearly in a daze.

The rest of the ninja helped Kai to sit up while Lloyd ran inside to get him an ice pack.

"He must've hit his head hard, Sensei," Jay remarked.

The martial arts teacher shook his head, seeing that the red ninja was not in optimal condition to train. "I see we will not be improving our skills today," he said, slowly helping Kai up.

"What's gotten into you, bro?" Cole asked.

Hearing his teammate address him, Kai turned to look at the earth ninja, and his eyes grew wide.

"Cole! There's three of you?!" he exclaimed.

Jay brought his hand to his forehead, exasperated by the red ninja's lack of intelligent responses. "This is worse than the snake venom!"

Finally, Lloyd came out onto the deck, holding a large bag of ice.

"Here you go buddy," he said, handing the ninja the bag. "Sorry about that. I didn't know you were so out of it," he chuckled to himself.

After holding the bag to his head for a few seconds, Kai seemed to regain full consciousness.

"Jeez, that hurt," he said. "Guess I'm off my game today."

"I believe there is more to it than that," Sensei said, but he did not further elaborate. "Why don't you rest for a while until the swelling goes down?"

"M'kay," Kai said.

The ninja, still slightly in a daze began walking towards the stairwell that led down to the ship's interior. He slowly made his way to the living room, then collapsed onto the couch. Holding the bag of ice to his throbbing head, he found the sensation of the ice on his injury to be soothing. The ninja felt his eyelids drooping, becoming increasingly heavy with each passing second, and within minutes, the ninja of fire was asleep.

**Sorry this was such a boring chapter, but like any story, the plot needs to be moved along! Poor Kai, he has had such a string of back luck lately. Hopefully things will start looking up for him soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

_"It's good to have you back, Skylor," Kai said as he and the red-haired girl walked through Ninjago City Park. The weather was perfect-the sun was shining, birds were singing, the sky was clear. All in all, a beautiful day._

_"I'm glad to be back," Skylor said. The ninja of amber was wearing her signature orange gi, and her fiery red hair was pulled back into its usual ponytail. She was dressed casually, yet to Kai, she couldn't have been more beautiful._

_Unlike the female ninja, Kai was wearing his street clothes-a red hoodie with a matching red t-shirt underneath, and brown pants. The red ninja had his hands shyly in his pockets._

_Even though it was warm outside, it was nothing compared to how hot Kai felt at the moment. The way the breeze gently blew her soft, shiny hair, which was flowing and long, like a satin red curtain. Skylor was gorgeous._

_"So how are the other ninja?" she asked._

_The red ninja realized he had been staring at her, causing him to blush even more than he already was._

_"They're good," he said, struggling to form words. "How have you been?"_

_The orange-clad ninja smiled. "Alright," she said. "It's been kind of lonely, you know. When your evil father's been banished to the cursed realm, it can get pretty lonely."_

_Kai chuckled at her sarcasm. As usual, Skylor was as smooth as glass when it came to humor._

_"Yeah, I hear that," he said._

_The two walked in awkward silence for a few minutes, though the awkwardness was mainly one-sided. Skylor was enjoying the scenery around her, completely oblivious to Kai's growing anxiety._

_"Sorry about your father," Kai said, needing to say something. "I know what it's like to lose a parent."_

_Skylor shrugged. "My father didn't care much about me, so I really don't miss him all that much."_

_"Yet you still chose to run his business," Kai said. "Why?" He couldn't imagine why she would take on such a responsibility despite the fact that her father was a cruel, heartless man. Or, more importantly, why she would choose her father's business over him._

_"Because I needed to make a living somehow."_

_"If you had come with us, you wouldn't have needed to worry about that," Kai said, feeling his emotions intensifying. "You could've had a family, a home. The others would've loved you."_

_"You know I couldn't have intruded like that," she said. "I had already betrayed them. How could they have trusted me?"_

_"I trust you," Kai said, his eyes pleading. "It's not too late to change your mind."_

_"It's not?"_

_Kai shook his head forcefully. "No. Just think about it, okay?"_

_Skylor was silent, taking a moment to process the information. _

_"Alright, I will."_

_Kai smiled. Maybe there was hope after all. "Good."_

_The two continued to walk through the park, which seemed a lot bigger to Kai than he had remembered._

_Suddenly, the girl stopped._

_"Can I ask you something?" Skylor asked, breaking his train of thought._

_The red ninja met her gaze, and noticed her vibrant green eyes were staring back at him._

_"Anything," he said, still captivated by her hypnotic orbs._

_"If you had to pick staying with the ninja or having a life with me, which would you pick?"_

_"You. In a heartbeat."_

_She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"_

_"Why would you have any doubt?"_

_A smirk tugged at her lips. "Just asking."_

_The red ninja found himself grinning back at her, thinking how lucky he was to be with her right now. At this moment, nothing else mattered. All that mattered was Skylor._

_"Can I ask you something, Skylor?"_

_"That depends." Yep, smooth as glass._

_"Do you...have feelings for me?"_

_"Of course I do. Isn't it obvious?" she stated matter-of-factly._

_Kai wasn't sure what to say, instead he gave her a goofy smile, which in turn made the ninja of amber laugh, a warm, melodious laugh that sounded like the chiming of bells. He had never heard a more entrancing sound._

_"I'm kidding," she said, after the laughter had died down. "But in all seriousness I do like you, Kai."_

_The female ninja put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to shiver with the contact. He wasn't cold though, no, his skin burned where she had touched it._

_He had never felt this way about anyone before. He was usually so confident around girls, but with Skylor, he was so vulnerable that he would almost forget his own name. She had this power over him that no other female in Ninjago did. She carried herself with grace and elegance while maintaining a cool, calm and collected composure at the same time. And the distance she had set between them initially made him only want her more. The thrill of the chase, as they called it, was and he never grew tired of it._

_"And I'm going to prove how I feel about you," the female ninja said._

_Kai's heart skipped at beat as she leaned in closer. The hand that she had put on his shoulder slid upward to cup his cheek, while the fingers of her other hand, the one that she had kept at her side, interlaced with his._

_"I love you, Kai."_

_"I love you, Skylor," he said before their lips met and fireworks exploded._

"Kai! Kai!" a familiar voice called.

The fire ninja's eyes fluttered open to find none other than Sensei Wu standing at the foot of the couch.

"Nice to see that you're awake," the sensei said as he looked down at his student.

"Wha-what's going on?" he asked, his voice groggy from the nap.

"The other ninja are having their break time," Sensei explained. "I wanted to inform you that it is approximately two o' clock right about now."

"Two o' clock!" the ninja abruptly sat up and practically jumped off the couch in one wild frenzy. "I'm going to be late!"

It wasn't until he stood up that the ninja felt the dull, aching pain in his head. "Probably should take some ibuprofen for that," he said, rubbing his skull.

"Indeed," Sensei said. The martial arts teacher walked over to the counter where the bag of marshmallows were sitting, untouched. "You may want these," he said as he walked over to the red ninja and handed them to him.

After forgetting for a split second why his teacher gave it to him it in the first place, Kai took the bag gratefully.

"Right. The marshmallows. Thanks, Sensei."

"I wish you luck on your 'mission'", Sensei said.

Kai nodded. Maybe after today he could put this whole thing behind him, and life could resume as normal. However, something inside of him told him this was far from over.


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm coming, Sam!" Kai called out to no one as he raced to the park, carrying the precious bag of marshmallows, careful not to squish them.

When he reached the park, Kai scanned the area, shielding his eyes from the sun's intense rays. It truly was a beautiful day in Ninjago City.

Eventually, Kai's eyes rested on a blonde girl sitting on a bench near the fountain next to Zane's "Titanium Ninja" statue. _This brings back memories._

The ninja walked over to her slowly, different scenarios running through his head. What was he going to say? Was it even Sam he was seeing?

His questions were answered shortly when he got closer look at her. Coming into view, he could see her face, and indeed, it was the same Sam he had met at the grocery store.

Seeing the familiar spiky-haired brunette, the girl stood up from her seat on the bench to greet him.

"Hey," she greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey," Kai replied, partially out of breath as he held the bag out in front of him. "Got your marshmallows."

The girl smiled, noticing Kai appeared a bit out of breath, like he had been running the entire way to the park.

"Thanks for giving them back," the girl said. "I thought I'd die without them."

Kai chuckled, picking up on her sarcasm. _Wow, that was actually quite funny._

_"_No problem. All I had to do was swim across a lake full of star-teeth, defeat a whole skeleton army, and fight a few Anacondrai snakes here and there," he said. "But other than that, no big deal."

For a moment, Kai thought he may have gone overkill with the sarcasm, however, the girl just smiled and laughed like she had done at the grocery store.

"Is that all?"

After the laughter had died down, the two stood there awkwardly, neither knowing what else to say.

Finally, Kai was the first one to speak up.

"Do wanna sit down and talk for a minute?" he asked. It didn't seem right to him just to leave after giving her back the marshmallows.

The girl nodded, slightly surprised that the ninja would make such a suggestion.

"Uh, sure."

They each sat down on bench, both very careful not to sit too close to one another.

"I didn't quite catch your name," the girl said, trying to break the awkwardness. "You're Jay, no you're-"

"Kai. My name's Kai."

"Kai," she repeated, letting the name roll of her tongue. "That's a cool name."

Call him crazy, but Kai thought he felt himself blush slightly at her compliment. Nonetheless, he pretended as if it didn't phase him.

"Yeah, it's a good name. Think it suits me."

Unfortunately, silence started to rear its ugly head once more.

Desperate to say something before the air became completely awkward and weird, the red ninja blurted out, "I was able to get out of training today," he said.

Sam tilted her head curiously. "Why's that?"

"I kinda hit my head after my teammate dodged my attack," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But I'm okay now."

"That's good," she smiled.

"Yeah, being a ninja isn't easy, that's for sure."

For a split second, Sam thought she saw a hint of sadness flicker in his soft brown eyes, but when she blinked, it was gone.

"What's it like, being a ninja?" she asked.

Kai's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected her to ask such a question.

"Oh, well, being a ninja is great," he said. "Don't get me wrong. We train, we eat, we sleep. It's a routine."

"And how many ninja are there?"

"There's five of us, including myself. And our Sensei. Plus my sister. We're all very close, like one big family."

"Wow," the girl said, trying to process the information. The ninjas' life was certainly different from the average civilian's, including herself. She imagined what it would be like to be in their shoes for a day. It sounded a lot more exciting than being a regular old college student.

"What's your life like?" Kai asked, running out of things to say. He did enjoy talking about himself and life as a ninja, but there were things that were difficult to explain to a civilian in a single sentence.

"My life is pretty boring, I guess you could say. Compared to yours," Sam said. "I'm a college student, so mainly what I do is study."

Kai nodded, showing he was listening. College did not really sound at all like he and the other ninja thought it was, granted he and the other ninja could not attend one, since training took up most of their time. Sensei had told them once that if they had been average civilians, he would've been in college right now.

"How old are you?" Kai asked out of curiosity. "Not to be creepy."

"19," the girl replied, secretly wondering why her age was important.

"Well, I'm 20," Kai said, remembering the surprise party that Nya and the other ninja had several months back. "So that means I would be a year ahead of you."

"You'd be a sophomore," the girl said. She was slightly surprised at how uninformed the ninja appeared to be about schooling.

"I thought college was supposed to be about having fun and having a good time. Partying," Kai said, referring to her earlier comment about studying. "They say it's the best four years of your life."

The girl smiled and shook her head, chuckling slightly. She found Kai's misconceptions cute, in an endearing way.

"There are parties, however, I don't go to many of them. I'll be honest, I'm not one for partying. So much could wrong, especially at those wild frat parties."

Kai nodded, taking in the information.

So college wasn't what he and the other ninja had made it up to be. It was just studying. Like training.

"This is interesting news to bring to the ninja back home," he said.

"On your ship," the girl said teasingly. She still couldn't believe out of all the places, the ninja were living on a flying ship.

Kai chuckled. Living on a ship did sound pretty ridiculous. Almost like a fairytale. "Yep."

The two were faced with silence again, however, this time it wasn't as uncomfortable.

"Well, I should probably get going," Kai said, standing up from his spot on the bench. "We should do this again sometime."

"We should," she said, clutching her bag of marshmallows. They had been talking for so long that she had almost forgotten about them.

Kai ran a hand through his spiky brown hair, with an awkward grin plastered on his face. "So I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Both Kai and Sam glanced down at their feet for a moment, neither wanting to be the first one to leave.

Suddenly, Sam's eyes lit up as she looked at Kai. "I'll give you my number if you want it. In case you wanna talk sometime."

She rummaged through her purse to find a piece of paper, however, no such paper was found. Instead, she pulled out a Sharpie, the one she had been using for school.

"I don't have any paper," she said. "But..."

She uncapped the Sharpie, then began writing on the bag. When she was done, she handed it to Kai.

"Here."

The ninja looked at the bag and saw she had written her number on the bag of marshmallows.

"You can take the bag back," she said.

Kai stared at her in disbelief. "But I just gave them back to you. Don't you want them?"

Sam shook her head. "No, they're not that important to me." She felt slightly guilty about not taking them even though Kai had gone to all that trouble to return them to her, but how else could she keep in contact with him?

"You can give them back to me another time," she said. "All the more reason to meet up again."

She winked at him, and it was then that Kai realized what she was doing. Now, unless she wanted her marshmallows back, he had no choice but to see her again sometime. She was right though, he could just return them to her later. No problem.

"You're right, maybe I will." He winked back at her.

"Bye Kai," she waved to him as they parted ways.

"See you, Sam," Kai said as he left. "See you later."


	11. Chapter 11

When the ninja returned to the Bounty, it was after 4 o'clock, meaning training was over.

This time, it was Lloyd and Nya who were playing a card game at the kitchen table and Zane was in the kitchen, cooking. Not surprisingly, Cole and Jay were playing video games.

Lloyd and Nya looked up when they saw their friend and brother enter the room.

"Hey, Kai," Nya said.

"Hey, sis."

"Hey Kai, how was your date?" Lloyd said, flashing him a smug smile.

The red ninja narrowed his eyes at the younger ninja. "It wasn't a-Hey, how did you know about that?" He did not remember mentioning anything about their little meeting at the park to the rest of the ninja.

"Sensei told us," Jay said from across the room, eyes still glued to the TV screen. "We wondered where you went."

"Yeah, we found that while we were training our butts off, you were at the park with some girl," Cole added.

Kai sighed-how many times did he have to explain it?

"Guys, I'm telling you, it wasn't a date."

"Sure..." Lloyd said, rolling his eyes in a playful manner.

Hearing the red ninja's voice from his bedroom, Sensei walked into living area, carrying a cup of tea.

"I see you have returned," he said. "Was your mission successful?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Um, not exactly, Sensei," he answered, and that's when the sensei noticed his pupil was still holding the bag of marshmallows.

Sensei frowned. "Was there a problem?"

"Uh, no, no problem. The opposite, actually."

"Ooo, Kai's got a girlfriend!" Jay interjected from the living room.

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just-"

"What is this writing on the bag?" Sensei said, pointing to the Sharpie markings on the bag.

"Oh, this. This is just her number." The red ninja said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Lloyd, who had been listening to the conversation raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"

Kai sighed in exasperation.

"Oh alright, maybe she likes me a little bit. But she's _not_ my girlfriend."

"Whatever, Romeo," Jay said, standing up from his seat on the floor of the living room. "I deserve some credit for getting you guys together."

The red ninja narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"What? Why? You didn't do anything."

"On the contrary," the blue ninja replied, "I was the one who dragged you to the grocery store."

Kai shook his head.

"No you didn't. Sensei forced me to go."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't have had to go if I hadn't kept complaining about the toilet paper."

"Well, you did do a lot of that," the red ninja muttered. Either way, he wasn't in the mood to argue.

"Whatever, Jay, you win."

In the kitchen, Zane was finishing making tonight's dinner, which was chicken teriyaki. He had been pouring the teriyaki sauce over the chicken while listening to the other ninjas' conversation, and decided that now would be a good time to intervene.

"I believe dinner is almost ready," he announced.

The next few days were fairly quiet and uneventful for the red ninja. Sensei continued to train the five ninja, conditioning them and keeping them in shape in case any trouble arose. He even gave Kai some private lessons, constantly teaching him the art of patience and instructing him to focus. Of course, the other ninja noticed the amount of one-on-one time the red ninja was getting from his teacher, and would snicker about him needing the extra practice on occasion. Other than that, life continued on as usual, with nothing out of the ordinary occurring.

However, Kai was a bit displeased to find none other than Jay, after one of his private lessons with Sensei, eating marshmallows from Sam's bag, which had been sitting on the kitchen counter for the past few days.

"Jay, what are you doing?" he demanded, catching the blue ninja in the act.

The bag of marshmallows was open and Jay's hand was buried in the package.

At the sound of the red ninja's voice, Jay jumped, wearing an expression that resembled a deer in headlights.

"Nothing," the blue ninja said, his mouth full of marshmallows.

"Those are Sam's!" Kai exclaimed. "Why are you eating them?"

"I was hungry," his teammate replied, his voice slightly high-pitched and whiny. "And I was craving something sweet."

"That doesn't mean you had to eat them!"

"Well, I saw the bag sitting there, and I just couldn't resist. I was weak, Kai. I was weak," he said, as if that was a good excuse.

"Thanks a lot, Jay," the red ninja sighed, rolling his eyes. "Now I'm gonna have to go buy another one."

"Are you sure she wants it, though?" Jay asked, stuffing a handful of marshmallows into his mouth. "I mean, if she really wants them so badly, she could go out and just buy some herself."

"Of course she does," Kai stated like it was the silliest thing he had ever heard. "The deal was that I'd give them back to her when I saw her again, since she wrote her number on it."

"Speaking of her number..." Jay raised an eyebrow, "...have you actually tried to call her yet?"

"Not yet," the red ninja answered. "But I will."

Nonetheless, Jay was doubtful.

"Well, you better do it soon," the blue ninja warned. "Because she may find someone else who gives her marshmallows _and_ returns them to her within a reasonable amount of time."

"Why does it matter to you anyways?" Kai asked, feeling defensive. "It's just a girl."

"Well," Jay gave him a sheepish look, "it's just that you haven't seemed like yourself lately, since-"

"Since Skylor, I know," the red ninja sighed.

None of the other ninja were aware of Kai's recent change in behavior besides Jay, which made sense since Jay was his best friend, after all.

The blue ninja nodded. "Ever since we defeated Chen, you've been a little distant, and upset for that matter."

"I know." Kai himself had noticed he had been acting different since Skylor had said goodbye to him. His sleep pattern was off (staying up late and waking up late), his loss of appetite, not to mention his sudden mood swings, which were becoming more frequent as the days passed. Overall, he was more irritable than normal.

The other ninja weren't as observant, and even if they were, they probably wouldn't have said anything. But Jay could sense when his brother was off, and in turn, Kai felt that Jay was the the could confide in the most.

"I know it's been hard for you," Jay said. "But don't let a good opportunity pass you by, though. I leaned that when I met Nya."

The red ninja rolled his eyes. "Right, my sister."

He was still getting used to the fact that his best friend was dating his sister. It didn't bother him so much anymore, at least as much when both Cole and Jay were after her. That had been a nail-biting time for the red ninja-talk about stress and anxiety.

But overall, he was happy for the both of them, and he supposed if anybody should be dating his sister, it was Jay. Jay was a good friend, and he always came through when the situation called for it. It had taken him a while to accept it, especially after he realized that Jay was going to pursue her no matter what. Yet, it was a quality that Kai admired in friend, and in the red ninja's eyes, made him all the more fit for his sister.

"I don't know, Jay, I'm torn," Kai said. "I just don't wanna start something I won't be able to finish."

Jay nodded in understanding. "That's how I felt about, Nya, Kai," he said. "Lord knows how immature I was back then." He cringed at the thought. "But I learned that sometimes you just gotta take some risks."

"And see where it takes you," Kai finished the thought. The red ninja was silent for a moment, trying to process the information. He supposed he could give it a shot and call her. If they went out and had a good time, then that was great. If not, the letter to Skylor would be there waiting.

But the question was: Was the risk worth taking?


	12. Chapter 12

"Ooo, I can't believe you're actually calling her!"

"Will you shut up, already?"

It was yesterday that Kai and Jay had had their little talk, and the red ninja had decided to simply take the risk and call her. However, Kai should have guessed that he would not be able to make the call alone, with the only phone being the landline in the control room. He was bound to have someone else in the vicinity, and that person just so happened to be Jay. The blue ninja wanted to be there for a "momentous" occasion such as this one, so there was no getting rid of him.

"It's ringing." Kai held a finger up to his lips as he put the phone to his ear.

"This is so exciting!" Jay whispered.

"Now be quiet so I can actually hear what she's saying."

"Don't worry, you won't even know I'm here."

"Yeah, like that'll happen in a mill-Hey, Sam!" Kai's tone of voice changed almost instantaneously.

"Hey, Kai!" Sam said from the other end of the line. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just taking a break from training," Kai said casually.

"How about you? What have you been up to?"

Jay gave his a brother a knowing look, which the red ninja tried very hard to ignore.

"Just studying," the girl replied.

It was silent for a moment before Kai cleared his throat.

"So yeah...I just wanted to call and ask if you wanted to go out sometime?"

At the mention of a date, the blue ninja began making kissy-faces in the background.

It was then that the red ninja covered the mouthpiece with his hand and scolded him.

"Would you cut it out it already?!"

Kai quickly put the phone against his ear again, praying that she hadn't thought he was talking to her.

"Sorry, that was just my teammate, Jay. He thinks he's being funny but he isn't." The red ninja shot a glare in his brother's direction.

In turn, the blue ninja feigned disappointment and shock, pretending to punch himself in the gut as though Kai's words had wounded him.

"So anyways, how about it? I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine too." The red ninja didn't want to sound too eager, or to put any sort of pressure on her.

"I'd like that," Sam said.

"Ah, good." He ran his hands through his spiky brown hair. It was all he could do to prevent from breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"Is it a yes?" Jay asked curiously from behind the red ninja's shoulder, unable to take to the suspense much longer.

Kai put his hand up in front of him as if to silence him. He nodded slightly to indicate that she had indeed said yes, however, Jay hadn't caught onto it yet. Instead, the blue ninja was still watching him intently with inquiring eyes.

"Do you wanna see a movie then?" Kai asked. "Whatever you wanna do."

"We could see a movie," Sam said. "How about the Lego movie?"

"Sounds good," the red ninja replied. He had actually been kinda wanting to see that. "Friday night, pick you up around 7?"

"Sure thing."

"Great, see you then."

Jay winked at his brother, who was now grinning like an idiot.

"'Kay, bye. Bye."

Kai hung up the phone, and all the energy that the blue ninja had been trying to contain exploded.

"So...?"

"She said yes."

"She said yes?!"

Jay gave him a high five, then began dancing around the room like he was the one that had been asked out.

"Woohoo! Yeah! See I told you she likes you!"

Kai smiled, his teammate's enthusiasm was contagious.

"You didn't tell me anything! Just that you deserved credit!"

"Yeah, and I do! Man, I am so good!" The blue ninja punched the air with his fists. Clearly, he wanted some recognition.

"Whatever, Jay," the red ninja said, waving his brother's comments aside. "If this goes well, then I _might_ just thank you."

**Sorry this chapter was so short! I felt like it needed to be its own separate entity with the phone call. So Kai has taken the plunge and has asked Sam out! How do you think the date is going to go? Keep reading to find out! And don't forget to review and subscribe! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

Friday came too quickly for the red ninja. It wasn't until Kai woke up on Friday morning that he realized he had a date to prepare for.

Standing in the bathroom mirror, the red ninja was about to pull his spiky brown hair out trying to figure out what he was supposed to do to get ready for a date.

Kai normally didn't have trouble going out with girls. Usually he would win them over with his manly charm, his infamous bad boy persona. Simply flashing a mischievous smile would cause girls to swoon over him. Kai was no doubt the most flirtatious of the group. He was a sweet-talker, but to him, it just didn't seem like Sam's style. She was probably looking for someone who was more down to earth, who had more depth to them. At the grocery store, she seemed to appreciate him even if he wasn't the smoothest.

So what did he do when he had to make a good impression without using those famous one-liners he had spent years memorizing?

He was ashamed to admit it, but he supposed he should seek help from a expert. Not like Jay was an expert or anything, but he knew Jay probably had more dating experience, especially since he had been dating Nya for a few years now, minus that little incident with Cole. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

The red ninja walked into the control room, where Jay was diligently working on repairing the computer or building another one his inventions, Kai wasn't sure.

"Jay," he said reluctantly. "I need your help."

The blue ninja looked up from what he was doing.

"Oh hey, Kai," he greeted his teammate. "And what sort of help would that be?"

The red ninja glanced down at his feet.

"I need your help. With dating," Kai said, mumbling the last part.

Jay's eyes widened. "You?! You need my help?!" Frankly, he was surprised that the master of fire would need help in the romance department.

"Yes, Jay, I need your advice," the red ninja said. "I'm not sure what to do on a date. Like, what do I wear?"

Jay snickered at the fire ninja's dilemma. Someone usually so confident was acting like a lost puppy.

"Don't worry, Kai, you came to the right person. I'm going to make sure that this'll be the best date you've ever been on."

"Are you sure about this?" Kai asked as he stepped out of the bathroom. "I think it looks kind of weird on me."

Like the good friend that he was, Jay had decided to help Kai get ready for his date. He had started with wardrobe, since clothes were usually the first thing that made an impression.

Jay had borrowed a black and red-striped shirt from Cole's closet, since the only attire that Kai seemed to own was a collection of hoodies and sweatpants. And those would not do.

Both Kai and Jay knew that Kai needed to look presentable but not over-the-top, and in Jay's opinion, Cole's shirt was a perfect middle-ground.

It was a three-quarter sleeve, button-up shirt. They didn't know exactly why Cole had a shirt like this (Jay was suspicious that he had worn it when he was dating Nya), but it did suit the fire ninja well.

"Don't be silly, Kai. You look fantastic," Jay said. He had paired the shirt with some dark-washed jeans, which definitely completed the outfit.

"Now, let's practice our dating decorum," Jay said officially. "Pretend I'm a girl."

The blue ninja let his brother process the image until it sunk in, however, Kai's imagination did not allow for such a bizarre concept. Nonetheless, Jay continued. "What would you say to me?"

Kai blinked, still trying to picture his brother as a girl.

"Um, hi?"

"Wrong!" Jay yelled. "Try again."

Kai said he wouldn't do this, but he didn't know what Jay was looking for, so out of desperation, he used one of his famous pick-up lines.

"Hey, babe, wanna take a spin on my elemental dragon?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there," Jay said. "You wanna impress her, not scare her away!"

"Then what am I supposed to say?!" Kai exclaimed.

"Well, you could say she looks nice," Jay said. "when you first see her."

The red ninja slapped his forehead. He was obviously thinking about this too much.

"Alright. Tell her she looks nice," Kai repeated, making a mental note of it.

"Yeah, and just be confident," Jay said. "Confidence is key if you wanna impress someone."

"Right."

"And I know you got that part down, Hotshot," he added.

Still, the red ninja was uncertain.

"But what if I mess up? What if she wants to hold my hand? Or, worse, what if she tries to kiss me?"

"Then let her!" Jay said. "I don't know why you're getting so worked up about this date."

The blue ninja understood that Kai was having anxiety but he had no idea why he, out of all people, was in so much turmoil over a silly little date.

"Just chill. _Relax," _Jay said. "Obviously she already likes you a little if she said yes. Just be yourself."

"My-myself?" Kai repeated.

"Yes, Kai, yourself." The blue ninja felt like he was speaking to a psychiatric patient.

Suddenly, the blue ninja thought of something. Jay walked into the bathroom, and a few seconds later, came back, holding a bottle.

"Here. You can borrow my cologne," Jay said, handing the bottle to Kai. "Never had a problem with it. Nya really likes it, and I'm sure Sam will too."

Kai studied the bottle. It was a blue bottle with gold writing on the front, labelled Grey Kin. He recognized the name-he couldn't believe Jay even owned this.

"Jay, this stuff is expensive," Kai said. It was one of the most expensive perfumes you could buy in Ninjago.

The blue ninja rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, I saved up for it for a long time. It didn't hurt that I sold an invention a while ago, so I got some extra cash," Jay explained. "I bought it thinking Nya would like it, and she did, so that worked out well I guess."

"Wow, you really would've done anything to get Nya's attention, didn't you?" Kai asked.

"Yeah," Jay sighed happily. "I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but your sister's amazing, Kai. And I'd do just about anything for her."

Kai smiled. His sister was a pretty amazing person. He'd be stupid to think other people, especially the boys, wouldn't notice that too.

"No, Jay, she is. I'd do anything for her too."

For a moment, he forgot about the whole date thing, and just enjoyed being in the company of his pal. He and Jay hadn't really connected like this since the Tournament of Elements, and to be honest, it was kind of nice.

They stood there in silence for a minute or so until Jay winked at his friend.

"Wanna go show everyone how awesome you look before you go? You should probably leave soon if you wanna make it to her house by seven."

"Actually, I'm meeting her outside her dorm building or whatever. But yeah, I should probably get going soon."

It was around six o' clock, and Kai knew he had to leave by six thirty if he wanted to meet her at seven.

He had called her shortly after he had made the first call to double check where they should meet, since he so stupidly forgot to ask her what her address was. Couldn't really plan to pick someone up if you didn't know where they lived.

Anyways, Kai thought that he should probably start heading out. He was nervous, but strangely enough, talking with the most paranoid person on the team seemed to help.

The red ninja spritzed himself with the cologne and gave it back to the blue ninja.

"Alright, Jay," he said to his brother. "I'm ready."

In the living room, the rest of the ninja were lounging around as usual. Nya was cooking, and Cole and Lloyd were playing video games. Zane bounced around-he had played video games with the other two for a few minutes, but then went to assist Nya in the kitchen.

Kai strutted into the room, with Jay following behind him.

Cole and Lloyd looked up from their game when they saw the red ninja.

"Whoa, looking sharp, buddy," the black ninja said, noticing his teammate's transformation.

"Yeah, why are you all dressed up?" Lloyd asked.

The red ninja smirked proudly.

"Because, fellas, I have a date tonight," he said, adjusting the collar of his shirt.

"Is it with that same girl you met up with earlier this week?" the green ninja inquired.

"Yep."

While he was admiring himself, Kai noticed that the black ninja was staring at him.

"What?" he asked.

Cole didn't answer, instead he eyed the red ninja suspiciously.

"Hey, that's my shirt!" he said, realizing what was so familiar about Kai's outfit.

"Yeah, I let him borrow it," Jay said matter-of-factly.

"Okay, let me get this straight," the earth ninja said. "You let him borrow _my_ shirt."

"Well, it's not like you were gonna use it for anything," Jay retorted. "You should see his closet. He needs it, trust me."

"Don't worry, Cole, I won't ruin your shirt," Kai reassured him.

The red ninja glanced up at the clock and saw it was about six thirty.

"I'm gonna start heading out now," he said. "I'll see you guys later."

"Remember what I told you!" Jay reminded him as he walked towards the door.

"I will!"

"Bye Kai! Have fun on your date! And be back before curfew!" Cole teased.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Lloyd added, tormenting his older brother.

"Shut up, Lloyd!" the fire ninja said, earning a chuckle from the younger ninja. "See ya!"

Kai took a deep breath after he shut the door. Getting past his teammates was the first obstacle of the night. Now, the real fun began.


	14. Chapter 14

"Alright, where's that street name?" Kai wondered aloud as he walked down the streets of Ninjago City.

The red ninja was desperately searching for Sam's address, but none of the signs had the correct street name on them.

Sam had told him that her dorm building was located on Cherry Blossom Avenue, which was just a block away from Ninjago University's main academic building.

Problem was, all the streets on campus looked the same.

Finally, after several minutes of searching, the red ninja spotted a sign labelled Cherry Blossom Avenue.

He made his way down the street and saw a building that vaguely resembled a cardboard box. It had two stories, and the windows were small and rectangular. It was painted an off-white, and overall, it just looked kind of blah in Kai's opinion.

_I hope this is the right one, _the red ninja thought to himself.

He stood in front of the entrance of the building, since Sam said she'd meet him outside. He heard a door open and looked up, thinking it was Sam. Instead, it was another girl, who, when she saw Kai, gave him half-smile then continued on. He suddenly felt self-conscious standing in front of the building like he was, afraid that people might think he was a stalker lurking about. What if that girl reported him? He'd get arrested, then thrown in jail for the rest of his life, with only the nasty prison food as his source of nutrition. He'd never see his friends again, or Sam for that matter. Not even Skylor...

He lightly slapped his cheek, realizing that his imagination was getting the best of him.

_Pull it together, Kai, _he told himself.

He considered turning back, thinking that it maybe this wasn't her dormitory after all, when he heard the door open again. He looked up a second time, and saw it was none other than Sam.

Fortunately, she had decided to dress up a little for the occasion, so Kai didn't feel completely stupid with Cole's dress shirt. Sam was wearing a light blue sundress and some strappy sandals. This time, her golden blonde hair was down, a few pieces framing her face.

"Hey," she said as she stepped outside.

Kai realized he had been staring at her, and shook his head to snap himself out of it.

"Hey, Sam," he said. For the sake of conversation, he said, "I was afraid this was the wrong place."

Sam smiled. "Nope, this is it."

_Think of something else to say, Kai. _

He then remembered what Jay had told him.

"Uh, you look...nice," he stuttered, forcing the words out of him. He meant it, though. She did look pretty.

Sam smiled, and for a split-second, Kai thought he may have seen her blush.

"Thanks," she said. "You do too."

_"Score one for the blue ninja!" _he could hear Jay's voice inside his head. Jay was the one who had picked the shirt out, after all. Maybe the master of lightning did know what he was doing.

The red ninja smiled at the thought, then cleared his throat nervously.

"So, uh, you ready to go? The theater's only a couple blocks from here."

Sam nodded. "Lead the way."

* * *

"So, what do you do in your free time?" Sam asked as they walked to the movie theater.

Kai thought for a moment.

"Well, I play video games with Jay and Cole. Not so much Zane, but he joins in too sometimes," Kai explained. "Sometimes I like to mess with Lloyd, who is the newest ninja, I guess you could say. He's the Chosen One, so he was already pretty powerful. But then he was exposed to some Tomorrow's Tea in order to save us from the Grundle, so now he's our age. Me and the other ninja helped train him, and now he's the most powerful ninja in all of Ninjago."

"Wow," was all Sam could say. She could only imagine what it'd be like to have so much power at your fingertips.

"Yeah, pretty crazy, huh?" Kai said. "But enough about my life. What do you like to do?"

"Well," Sam paused, "I listen to music and hang out with friends. Oh, I enjoy biking, and I also play tennis."

"Tennis?" Kai repeated.

"Yeah, I played tennis in high school," Sam explained. "It's not the most popular sport, but it's good exercise. Sometimes I go to the park and play on the courts."

"That's cool," Kai said. "Me and other ninja-we do Spinjitzu, which is an ancient form of martial arts. And trust me, it's actually a good workout."

Sam chuckled. "It sounds like it."

Shortly after, the couple arrived at the theater, which was busy as usual. Kai wasn't one for big crowds, but having a friend with him made it a little easier.

* * *

As they stood in line for snacks, Kai tugged at the collar of his shirt anxiously, wondering how people could go through this much torture on a regular basis. Being near so many people at once was overwhelming, not to mention hot and stuffy. He could tolerate his own heat, but not the heat radiating off of others in such a small space. Though even that was questionable at this point. During their walk to the theater, the fire ninja couldn't help but notice how surreal it felt to be with Sam. The way her dress kind of swished as she walked and her cute demeanor in general made him sweat. Now he was going to sit next to her for two hours in a dark theater. He'd be lying if he said that didn't make him nervous.

Finally, it was their turn to order.

"I want a large popcorn and two sodas please," Kai told the cashier as he handed the money over.

While they waited for their refreshments, Sam turned to Kai.

"That's really sweet of you to pay," she said.

Again, Jay was the one that had told him that paying on the first date was a must because it showed he was willing to invest in dating her in the first place. Nya had told Jay on their first date that she'd pay at least her half, but Jay had insisted.

"No problem," Kai replied. "I just want you to be happy."

Kai was actually surprised at how funny the Lego Movie was. He couldn't stop chuckling at how ridiculous everything was, in a cool way. Unikitty's painfully positive attitude reminded him of Jay, which made it even funnier. And Batman was hilarious.

It seemed like Sam was enjoying the movie just as much. She was laughing so hard that her eyes watered, and she had to constantly wipe the tears away. Seeing her so happy made Kai feel the slightest tinge of happiness as well. Overall, things were going great.

Without thinking, Kai reached for a handful of popcorn, which was currently sitting on Sam's lap, and that's when his hand accidentally brushed hers. Apparently, she had reached into the bag the same time that he did. Startled, he quickly pulled away, thinking that she'd react negatively, but she paid no attention, and continued to munch on her popcorn happily.

"Sorry," the red ninja said.

"It's okay," Sam said, her eyes glued to the screen.

Kai could hear Jay's voice inside his head, telling him that he should put his arm around her.

_Would you just do it already? _the voice in his head complained.

"Would you cut it out, Jay!" the red ninja whispered to no one.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

Kai shook his head. "Um, nothing. It's nothing," he reassured her.

He fidgeted with the cuffs on his sleeves, fighting internally with himself.

Finally, he decided what the heck and that he probably wouldn't get the chance again, so he gathered up his courage, and pretended to stretch, landing an arm around her. He was tentative, unsure of how she'd react, but she didn't protest.

But then she did something that totally surprised him. She leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. Kai felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. He was glad that it was dark in the theater.

* * *

"That was a good movie," Sam said as they headed back to her dorm.

It had turned out to be a very nice night, weather-wise. The moon was out, casting its pale light over the city. Stars twinkled overhead, and a gentle breeze blew, tickling the couple's faces as they walked. It was a very peaceful evening indeed.

"Yeah, it was. I know you enjoyed it, you couldn't stop laughing every five seconds," Kai said, chuckling at the girl's expense.

Sam pouted, pretending to be offended. "Hey, you were laughing too," she pointed out.

The red ninja waved his arms defensively. "Alright, I admit it. It was pretty hilarious."

When they reached her dorm building, the air became awkward again.

"I had a great ti-"

"I hope you had a go-"

They couple laughed nervously, realizing they were both trying to speak at the same time.

"You go first," Kai said, being the gentleman that he was.

"Alright," Sam said, grinning at him. "I had a good time."

"I hope you did," the red ninja answered, fighting the temptation to glance down at his feet. He was surprised; he was acting like he had never been on a date before, and the other ninja knew that was definitely _not_ the case.

"We should do it again sometime," Sam said, echoing what her date had said at the park earlier that week.

"We should," the red ninja said.

A thousand things were running through his mind at the moment. Should he kiss her? Should he just leave it? What should he say? Should he suggest another date? He imagined saying something witty and clever, something smooth like the male protagonists did in the movies to end their date.

Instead, all he come up with was "Have a nice night." It sounded dumber in his mind than it actually did in reality. His voice was really calm, despite the turmoil he felt inside.

Sam smiled, sensing Kai was having difficulty expressing himself. This time, took the plunge and leaned in to peck his cheek.

"I already did," she said, causing the ninja to flush a beet red, almost as red as his ninja outfit.

For a minute, she was afraid that she had done the wrong thing, instead, Kai gave her a lopsided grin after she had pulled away.

"I'm glad," he replied, feeling slightly dizzy.

"Goodnight, Kai," she said, parting ways with him.

"'Night, Sam."

He watched her go inside, then saw her give him a small wave before shutting the door completely.

When she was out of sight, Kai did a little happy dance right there on the sidewalk. He was in too much of stupor to care what people might of thought of him when they passed by.

The only coherent thought he could form was _I really gotta thank Jay for this._


	15. Chapter 15

About fifteen minutes later, Kai had returned back home to the Bounty.

His head was still spinning, replaying the evening in his mind over and over again. His footsteps felt unusually light, almost like he was walking on clouds. Okay, maybe not that extreme. But it was true that he felt happier than he had been in a while.

He slowly opened the door, trying not to let it creak on his way in. The house was pitch black, meaning that all the other ninja and Sensei and Nya had probably gone to bed, which was good for Kai, since he would t have to deal with their annoying little comments about how the date went and all that.

The red ninja carefully closed the door behind him, when suddenly the lights flipped on.

"You're late," a voice said.

Kai turned around to find Cole sitting on the couch in the living room with his arms folded in a disapproving manner.

"Cole!" the red ninja jumped, startled. "What are you doing here?!"

"I live here," Cole said matter-of-factly. "More importantly, what were you doing out so late? Me and the others were worried sick."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "The others?" he questioned.

As if on cue, two other ninja appeared out of the shadows. Lloyd emerged from the hall, while Jay came out from the kitchen.

"Hey, Kai. Don't you know it's past curfew?" Jay remarked.

The red ninja shook his head in confusion. "Wha-curfew? I'm an adult! I don't have a curfew!"

"According to Cole, the ninja still have a curfew as long as they are living on this vessel. Ten fifty-nine and fifty-nine seconds to be exact," another voice said.

Zane walked out into the living room and took a seat next to Cole on the couch.

Kai glanced up at the clock in the kitchen. "It's eleven now."

"Hey, don't be making up excuses," Cole said.

"I'm not making up any ex-"

"Relax, we're just teasing you," Jay said.

The black ninja motioned for Kai to take a seat next to him and Zane on the couch, while Lloyd and Jay sat on the chairs in the kitchen.

Kai didn't sit down.

"Look, guys, it's been a long night. I just wanna go to bed," he said.

The blue ninja frowned. "You mean you were gonna go to bed without telling us anything?"

Kai shrugged. "Yep. Pretty much."

"I would sure like to listen to Kai's take on how the date went," Zane said.

"Yeah, tell us!" Jay exclaimed excitedly.

The red ninja thought for a moment, his resolve weakening.

"Ugh, fine," he grumbled as he grudgingly took a seat on the couch. "Well, we went to a movie and-"

"What movie?" Cole inquired.

Kai grinned sheepishly, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks. "The Lego Movie."

"Oh yeah, I was in that once," Lloyd interjected from the kitchen. The rest of the ninja stared at him in confusion.

"Uh, nothing. It was a long time ago," he said quickly.

Cole and the other ninja turned their attention back to Kai.

"So what did you do after the date?" the earth ninja asked.

The other ninja eyed him curiously.

Kai remembered the kiss she gave him, causing him to redden slightly.

"Uh, nothing really. I just took her back to her dorm," he said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Unfortunately, the other ninja weren't going to let up on their prying.

"That's it?" Lloyd said. "Come on, Kai, I know you're not that boring."

"Yeah, that's it!" Kai insisted. "Why do guys care?"

"'Cause we're interested," Cole answered. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

Kai rolled his eyes, annoyed that his brothers depended on him for their vicarious thrills.

"So, did you follow my advice?" Jay piped up.

Now that was a question that the red ninja was willing to answer.

"Yeah, I did. And it worked."

"What kind of advice did he give you?" Cole asked.

"Um, well-"

"Just the basics," the blue ninja interrupted. "You know, be polite, dress nicely, that kind of stuff."

"What about kissing? Did you guys kiss?" Lloyd asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

The others watched the red ninja intently, waiting for a response.

"Uh, no, not exactly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cole said.

Kai's face flushed a bright red, telling the other ninja there was more to the story than he was letting on.

"Well, she kissed me on the cheek, I guess."

Cole's eyes widened. "You guess? Did you like it?"

"Is she a good kisser?" Lloyd asked, in an effort to make his brother more uncomfortable.

Cole shot the green ninja a look as though he were crazy.

"How do you determine that when she just kisses you on the cheek?"

"Actually," Zane interjected, "the movement of the lips is actually quite similar, regardless of where they are being placed."

"For robots, maybe."

"Like you're some expert, Cole!"

"Can it, Motormouth!"

"That sounds so wrong!"

The topic of kissing snowballed into this huge debate that the red ninja had no intention of participating or taking part in.

"Alright, alright, enough!" Kai said, silencing the other four ninja. "I'm going to bed now."

And with that, the red ninja got up and walked out of the room.

When he was out of sight, Cole nudged Zane in the ribs.

"He's totally into her."

* * *

That night, Kai lay awake, replaying the day's events in his mind. Thoughts of Sam and Skylor buzzed around in his head. It was all so confusing now. He remembered what Sensei had said: "People come into our lives for a reason. And when their time is up, a new person comes along."

Those words continued to echo in mind. He had spent these past few days analyzing them and picking them apart. Could Sam be the "new person" his teacher had referred to?

His heart sank. If that was the case...he didn't know what to think. Sam was a great person, at least from the few times he had seen her he had drawn that conclusion. She was cute and she was nice, but she wasn't Skylor.

"Kai?" a voice whispered.

The red ninja looked across the room and saw Jay was watching him.

"Can't sleep?" the blue ninja asked.

Kai shook his head. "Nope. I just keep thinking about Sam. How do I know if she's the one for me. I mean, not like The One or anything," he rambled on, "but like a good match."

Jay was somewhat surprised by his friend's worry. Kai was usually so chill and go-with-the-flow, not as much as he was, of course, but it was still unusual.

"You don't really," Jay said. "But you gotta have faith. Maybe she is the one, maybe she isn't. But you don't know that until you get to know her."

Seeing that Kai was silent, the blue ninja continued.

"I mean, I was never sure that Nya and I would work out, but I still got to know her, and I'm glad I did," the blue ninja said. "I don't know what the future holds, but I've decided that living in the moment is the best. That's the only thing you can control."

"But what if Sam and I don't work out like you and Nya?" Kai retorted. "Then it'll all be for nothing."

"Not for nothing," Jay said. "Just go for it, Kai. I know you're scared, but in the end, what does it hurt?"

The red ninja thought it over for a moment. Maybe Jay was right. If it didn't work out, at least he could say he gave it a shot.

"You're right, Jay," he finally said. His hyperactive pal did have a good point.

"And wherever it goes," Jay added, "I'll be right there with you."

Kai gave his brother a grateful smile, though he probably couldn't see it because it was dark, but he hoped that Jay knew he appreciated the support.

"Thanks, Jay," the red ninja said. "Thanks for being there for me."


	16. Chapter 16

It had been a few days since the "big date" with Sam. Kai continued to get pestered with dozens of questions about his mysterious girlfriend, who was still mysterious to the rest of the ninja, besides Jay, who had already seen her in person.

As far as the other ninja were concerned, Sam was just a figment of their imagination. They would even pretend like they knew her and make up things about her to fill in the empty blanks, which annoyed Kai to no end.

Like when Cole and Lloyd were playing video games one night, Cole said, "I bet Sam's really good at video games."

"Yeah, I bet she could kick your butt," Lloyd answered.

"Oh, like I'm doing to you right now?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No way. Hey, if Sam and Kai were playing this, who do you think would win?"

Cole thought for a moment. "Probably Sam."

"Yeah, I think so too," Lloyd agreed. "Kai stinks at this game, anyways."

"I heard that!" the red ninja called from the kitchen. Apparently, he had been in earshot of their entire conversation.

"Whoops. Sorry Kai, we forgot you were there!" Cole yelled back.

The black ninja and the green ninja glanced at each other and shrugged, then continued to play their game. It was more fun to talk about Sam when Kai was around, anyways.

Training continued on as usual. Sensei was impressed at how Kai bounced back from his little episode last week, when he hit his head on the side of the deck. The red ninja was more focused and alert than he had been in awhile.

Thoughts of Skylor and Sam plagued Kai's mind still, but his talk with Jay the other night had helped ease some the anxiety he was feeling about diving into a new relationship. Of course, his attachments towards Skylor hadn't been resolved completely, but he was more open to the idea of dating someone else.

The next Saturday was when Kai decided to take the initiative and call Sam again. This time, all the other ninja were out, including Jay, therefore, he was alone, and no one could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Hey, Sam," Kai said.

"Hey, Kai," the girl on the other end replied. "What's up?"

She sounded cheerful, giving Kai the confidence to say what was on his mind.

"I wanted to tell you that I had a great time last Friday," the red ninja said. "And I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out again sometime."

"Sure, that sounds great," she answered. The enthusiasm in her voice made Kai all the more excited to see her.

"Are you free today?" he asked. "If not, that's okay. I don't want to bother you." The last thing he wanted was to be intrusive.

"Actually," Sam said, "I was going to the courts today."

"Oh." The red ninja was slightly disappointed.

However, Sam wasn't done talking. There was silence on the other end of the line before she asked "Do you wanna come with me?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said, slightly caught off guard by her invitation. He had never played tennis before, so it'd be interesting to watch her play-not like he'd understand anything, but nonetheless, it'd be a good experience.

"Great. I'll meet you there then, okay?" Sam asked.

"Sounds good." The red ninja didn't want to sound too eager, despite the fact that he was cheering on the inside.

"Cool. I'll be there in half an hour," the girl said.

"Alright," Kai said. "See you there. Bye."

After he hung up, the red ninja examined his clothing. Right now, he was in his ninja uniform, or gi. He supposed he should change into something more suitable if he was going to be outside, not fighting skeletons or snakes or other evil forces.

He decided to change into a pair of red and black shorts and a red t-shirt for the time being. Now he could just be Kai instead of the Red Ninja. Sometimes when he was out in public, he'd feel a little out of place in his ninja suit. Some civilians even showed concern when they saw any of the ninja, thinking that there was trouble or an emergency. Therefore, he decided it would be best to try to blend in, so he wouldn't feel the weirdo in the ninja outfit while he was spending time with Sam.

After he changed, he went to the kitchen and left a note on the fridge, saying that he went to the park so that the other ninja or Sensei wouldn't worry that he was missing when they got back from wherever. He recalled Jay saying that they needed a part of some sort to make some upgrades to the ship's computer system, so he and Nya were probably at the hardware store. Cole was visiting his father for a few hours, Lloyd was at the comic book store, Sensei was buying tea and other herbs at the Tea Shop, and Zane was doing, well, whatever nindroids did in their spare time. So that just left Kai to find something to do, and thankfully, he had found it.

* * *

Sam gathered her light hair into a ponytail, preparing for her hour or two of tennis practice. She wasn't exactly a part of the tennis team at the college, but it was still fun to play in her free time. She had just finished setting up her equipment. The tennis ball machine was filled to the brim, she was wearing her signature tennis gloves and shoes, and she was ready to go.

Yet, she found herself scanning the park for her spiky-haired friend. She hadn't planned for him to come with her today, but when he asked, how could she have said no? It did get pretty lonely sometimes, since she never really came with any one, but thankfully, she wouldn't be alone today.

She had just started to practice when she saw a blur of red approach her out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw her spiky-haired ninja friend standing against the fence to the tennis court. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hey Kai," she said, smiling at the red ninja before deflecting a tennis ball.

"Hey Sam," he answered.

Kai watched her practice, as she continued to hit each tennis ball that the machine spit out, almost effortlessly.

"Wow, you're pretty good," he said, admiring her coordination.

"Thanks, I've had a lot of practice."

She paused, then looked at Kai, her eyes gleaming with excitement.

"You wanna try?"

The red ninja hesitated, surprised by her offer, but quickly nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

"Okay, show me what you got," Kai said to no one as he anticipated his first hit. The tennis ball machine stood firmly on the far side of the court. On the other side, the red ninja bounced on his feet, waiting for the mechanism to fire its first ball.

Suddenly, without warning, a tennis ball shot out from the barrel of the machine, flying past Kai and hitting the back of the metal fence of the court.

The red ninja blinked, stunned by the speed the ball had come towards him. Not wanting to appear completely stupid, he shook his head then looked at Sam, who stood right outside the fence.

"I was just warming up," he said, giving her a playful wink.

However, three tries later, the red ninja still hadn't made contact with a tennis ball.

"I got this," he told himself. He quickly stretched his arms and legs out, preparing himself for the next shot.

This time, the ninja took a different approach. Using Spinjitzu, he spun around and hit the ball in the center of the racquet, sending the ball straight at the machine, knocking it over in the process.

"Yes!" he cheered, punching the air with his fists in victory. After his initial excitement, he spotted the machine lying on the ground with the tennis balls spilling out onto the court.

"Oops," he said.

He then looked back at Sam, whose eyes were wide in shock.

That's right, Sam has never seen me use Spinjitzu, Kai thought, seeing her surprised expression.

"What was that?" she asked, staring at him with a curiously intent look on her face.

Kai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You know last Friday when I said I do Spinjitzu? Well, that's it," he said.

"Oh." Now she knew what he was talking about.

Kai nodded. "Yeah. It didn't take me that long to learn either. Jay kind of taught the rest of us how to do it, since he was technically the first one who used it on some skeletons we were fighting way back then," he added.

"Well, it's cool," Sam said still taken aback by the unexpected martial arts maneuver. "How do you do it?"

Kai opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it, not really knowing how to explain it.

"I...err...I don't really know exactly," he said. "I just do it. I guess I've done it so much that it's like an automatic thing to me now."

"Wow," was all Sam could say. There was more to the ninjas than she had previously thought. At first, she thought they just trained extra hard in regular martial arts, which is why they were designated as the protectors of Ninjago. But that move Kai had just pulled-it was almost like magic.

The red ninja studied his female friend. He was afraid that the act had disturbed her, but actually it had done the opposite. She was intrigued by the ancient form of martial arts, and it had made the ninja all the more interesting to her.

"You okay, Sam?" he asked. It was a stupid thing to say, but he wanted to make sure it didn't bother her. He hoped she wasn't turned off by it.

"Yeah," she said. Then a smile crept across her face. "You're not gonna use that against me during our game are you?"

Kai knitted his brows in confusion.

"What game?"

"The game we're about to play right now," Sam said as she opened the gate to the tennis court. "That is, if you want to."

She walked over to her duffel bag and pulled out a racket, and that's when it dawned on Kai that she was challenging him to a tennis match.

The ninja had never played tennis before, but there was a first time for everything, right?

"Bring it on," Kai said. "I could use some exercise."


	17. Chapter 17

To be honest, tennis was a lot harder than the red ninja had thought. You barely had a second to rest before the ball was in your court again, usually in a completely different place than it was before. He wouldn't have been surprised if he had covered every single square inch of his court during the game. He was a ninja, so it wasn't difficult for him to keep moving, but actually hitting the tennis ball was an entirely different story.

You'd think that since he was a ninja, he'd have good hand-eye coordination. He could move around, and he could hit the ball if he was standing still, but when the two actions were combined it took a lot of effort.

"Hey, no fair, you cheated!" Kai called across the court as Sam won yet another point.

"I didn't cheat. I always play by the rules," Sam replied, tossing the ball up in the air to serve.

"Well, I'm one to bend rules," Kai said, looking mighty smug for someone who was losing.

As the ball came towards him, the red ninja used martial arts. He darted towards the direction the ball was headed, pushed off the metal fence, and flipped so that he was in midair. While he was in the air, he was able to hit the ball in the exact center of the racquet, allowing it to bounce off the racquet with enough force that it whizzed past Sam too quickly for her to even see it.

Sam simply stood there, dumbfounded after Kai had used his martial arts training to gain a point.

Kai noticed her reaction and laughed.

"Looks like I got a point," he said, joshing her just a bit. "2-1," he stated proudly.

"Actually, the score would be 30-15," Sam said, a smirk of tugging at the corner of her mouth.

Confusion briefly flickered in the red ninja's eyes before they returned to their natural amused expression.

"Well, either way, I'm gonna win."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Kai and Sam were still dueling it out on the court. The score came out to be 40-40, or deuce. Kai continued to incorporate his martial art skills while Sam was able to maintain her swiftness as well as her good hand-eye coordination, keeping the score at a tie.

The couple didn't really seem to care though-they continued to play despite the fact there was no clear winner. It was fun enough to banter with one another and to just simply spend time with each other.

Finally, after an hour of game play, they decided to stop. Sam was completely worn out. Her face was bright red from exertion, and her legs felt like they were on fire from all the running around. She bent over with her free hand resting on her knee, trying to catch her breath.

On the other side of the court, the red ninja was getting tired as well. He probably wasn't as burned out as Sam was-he was a ninja with years of training under his belt, so he was used to the intense exercise, but it didn't prevent him from sweating. Kai's spiky hair was weighed down and his bangs stuck to his forehead like they were glued there. His red t-shirt clung to his skin in the heat of the mid-afternoon sun.

"Why don't we call it even?" he called from across the court to Sam, seeing that she was tired out.

"Sounds good," she answered, still catching her breath.

After resting for a couple of minutes, Sam started to pack up her tennis equipment.

"Thanks for coming today," she said. "I think this is one of the best workouts I've ever had."

Kai chuckled at her remark. "Don't mention it."

Sensing that their time together was coming to an end, the red ninja suddenly felt a wave of panic wash over him.

"Do you, uh, wanna get some ice cream?" he blurted out.

Sam looked at him, and a grin spread across her face.

"Sure. I know a place that's just down the block from here."

* * *

"...and then Jay comes out of the bathroom and yells at me, telling me that I got the wrong brand of toilet paper."

Kai was explaining the toilet paper incident he had had over a week ago, which coincidentally, was how he had met Sam in the first place.

"Wow," Sam said, wiping a tear from her eye. "That's hilarious."

The couple was sitting at a table just outside the ice cream parlor that Sam had showed him. She would sometimes come here after practice, just to get something to help her cool off. Since her first ice cream cone, she was addicted. Freddy's Ice Cream sold the best ice cream in Ninjago City, hands down in her opinion.

"So, that Spinjitzu thing you did," Sam said, bringing up the subject again, "is that all you can do?" She wondered if the ninja possessed any other magical abilities.

"Oh no, there's more," Kai said. "Spinjitzu is basic stuff compared to what else I can do."

"Such as?"

"Well, I can also shoot fire from my hands."

Sam's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah, I was able to do a lot more after I reached my True Potential," Kai said. "But I know you probably don't wanna hear about all that ninja stuff."

It did cross his mind that the whole ninja thing might have made her feel uncomfortable, so he wouldn't volunteer to talk about unless she asked. But secretly, he kind of liked to brag about it a little.

However, Sam wasn't the least bit turned off by it.

"No, I do. It's interesting, actually," she said, taking a bite of her ice cream.

"I'm surprised," Kai said, eating his own frozen treat. "Most people would be weirded out by the ninja thing. Some wouldn't even believe me."

"What's there not to believe?" Sam said. "You're a ninja living on a flying ship, and you can do Spinjitzu, and you have powers. Sounds pretty realistic to me."

"Hey," Kai said, nudging her lightly, causing her to laugh. "Each of the ninja have their own elemental powers."

"Oh, right."

The couple continued to eat their ice cream, and they spent the next half hour just talking. Kai told her more about what life was like as a ninja, while Sam told him about what life was like as a young civilian such as herself. It fascinated Kai to hear about how different the days went for an ordinary person. To think that he and the other ninja were leading completely different lives than everyone else, and that they were the ones who were considered "unusual."

Until now, he hadn't really thought about it, or put himself in the shoes of a citizen of Ninjago. He found himself wanting to learn more about her daily schedule, since he had never lived a "normal" life like she had. Before he was a ninja, he and sister had taken care of his father's blacksmith shop, without parents.

And Sam was such a good listener. He had never met someone who was so interested in his world, which was actually quite small, he realized. Then again, he rarely ever had the opportunity to talk to someone other than the other ninja or Sensei. Needless to say, it was great spending time with her.

But like Sensei always told them, all good things must come to an end at some point. He supposed he should be heading back soon. After all, he only said he was going to the park. And it had to have been at least three hours since he left, he imagined.

"Well, this was fun," Kai said. "I'm really glad I came.

"I'm glad too," Sam said, smiling at him.

"Though I should probably head back soon. The others'll be wondering where I am," the red ninja said.

Sam nodded. "I should probably get back too. I have a math test that I need to study for."

Then Kai did something that surprised even himself. He placed his hand on top of hers, which felt cold against his naturally warm skin.

"Let's meet up again, sometime," he said, his brown eyes gazing softly into hers. "This time, you call me."

Sam smiled at the sincerity in his voice. It made her heart ache slightly, thinking about how much fun she had had with him today, and now she'd have to go back to her small, stuffy dorm and study.

"Okay, I will," she said, then pulled out a black Sharpie from her purse. "What's your number?"


	18. Chapter 18

Kai returned to the Bounty with a grin plastered on his face. His outing with Sam had been extremely successful, in terms of getting to know her better. She was so nice, and funny, and cute, the way she tilted her head to one side when she listened, her light hair, and her smile-that was probably her most endearing quality. When she smiled, everything around her seemed to light up with her, including the red ninja himself. He didn't think he had smiled this much since he had last seen Skylor.

The red ninja opened the door and found that the Bounty was unusually quiet. The others must not have gotten home yet.

He walked into the living room and found Lloyd sprawled out on the couch, comic book in hand.

"Hey, Kai," the green ninja said, not looking up from his comic. "How was your date?"

The red ninja's jaw practically dropped. How did he know about the date?

"What date? I didn't go on a date," Kai said rather quickly, indicating he was lying.

"Sure ya did. For starters, you went to the park, and you never do anything outdoorsy," Lloyd said. "Second of all, you're smiling like you just won the lottery."

Kai realized the corners of mouth were still curved upward into a smile. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the expression before it gave anything else away. "No I'm not." The red ninja then noticed a stack of comic books piled up on the floor next to the couch. "What are those?" he asked, changing the subject.

Lloyd glanced up from his reading to see what Kai was looking at.

"Oh, those. I bought them today at the comic shop," the green ninja explained. "I know I said I was no longer interested in comics, but when I saw an ad for the newest issue of Starfarer, I just couldn't resist."

The red ninja raised an eyebrow.

"Does Sensei know you spent all that money on comic books?"

"Dude, I'm the green ninja. I practically get things for free," Lloyd said.

Kai rolled his eyes. After all these years, he still harbored some jealousy about Lloyd becoming the green ninja.

"Whatever."

Just then, the ninja heard footsteps. Kai turned around and saw Cole enter the living room.

"Thought I heard voices," the ninja of earth said. He walked into the living area, and, after seeing that the couch was taken, settled into one of the bean bag chairs in the corner of the room.

"How's your dad?" Kai asked, knowing that Cole had gone to visit him earlier.

The black ninja shrugged. "He's good, I guess."

Everyone knew that Cole had had issues with his father in the past, but the ninja were glad that the two were getting along, more or less. Kai would've done just about anything to see his own father again.

"So, how was your date?" Cole asked.

Seriously, how did they know what he'd been up to?

"Fine..."

"So you admit that you were on a date?" Lloyd said, eyes still glued to his comic.

The red ninja sighed. There was no use in hiding it. "Yes, I admit it."

"Well, give us some details then!" Cole said.

"Details?"

"Yeah, like what'd you do, where'd you go, did you kiss, you know, that kind of stuff."

Kai narrowed his eyes at the earth ninja.

"And why do I _need _to tell you any of those things?"

"Because as your teammate and friend, it is my job to keep tabs on you, even if it means nosing in your personal business," the black ninja stated matter-of-factly.

"I think I'll keep my business to myself, thank you very much."

"Come on, Kai," Cole insisted, his voice sounding slightly on the whiny side. "You gotta tell me something."

The earth ninja stared at Kai pleadingly, like how a kid might look at his parents when he wanted them to buy a new toy.

"Ugh, fine," the red ninja relented. "I was at the park, we played tennis, then got ice cream afterwards. Happy?"

"Did she kick your butt?" Lloyd asked. "At tennis?"

"Actually," Kai said, his ego taking over. "It was a tie."

Cole snorted. "She probably went easy on you." He highly doubted that the red ninja could be good at sports, since his teammate lacked many of the skills required to play a sport: selflessness, patience, and most importantly, coordination. The guy could barely roller skate, according to Jay.

Before Kai had time to protest, Cole intervened with another question.

"Where'd ya get the ice cream?" he asked.

"Freddy's. It's just this place near the park."

Cole's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "Dude, they have the best ice cream cake ever!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you guys take me?"

Kai rolled his eyes, trying to hide his amusement. "Because _you _weren't invited."

"Oh I get it, you just wanted the cake all to yourself." Cole folded his arms in a disapproving manner.

"I think he wanted more than just the cake to himself," Lloyd interjected, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kai demanded.

"Nothing," the green ninja replied, refusing to shed any more light on the subject. "Although," he added, "I don't know how she could stand it with you smelling and all." He waved his hand in front of his nose, emphasizing his point.

"What?"

"He means you stink," Cole said.

"Yeah, I know what it means." The red ninja sniffed himself and grimaced. "I need a shower, badly."

"You said it, not me."

Suddenly, the ninja heard the sound door open and shut, and Nya and Jay walked in.

"We're back!" Jay announced, with Nya trailing behind him. Both were carrying large paper bags.

"Whatcha got there?" Cole asked, noticing the size of the bags.

"This," Jay said, holding up the bag he was carrying, "is the part we need to upgrade the computer. And that," Jay nodded to the bag Nya was holding, "are things we need to fix the air conditioning. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want be roasting this summer."

The blue ninja and female Samurai set their purchases down on the kitchen counter.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Nya asked.

"Well, I was training after I got back from my dad's," Cole explained. "Lloyd was already here. Then Kai came home after his date at the park."

At the mention of her brother, Nya's gaze rested on the red ninja.

"You had a date, Kai?" she asked.

The ninja rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Maybe."

"Is it that same girl that you went on a date with last week?"

Everyone but Nya looked at Kai expectantly, causing the fire ninja to blush in embarrassment.

"Yeah."

"You went out with her again?" Jay asked, pleasantly surprised. "Good for you, buddy!" The blue ninja walked over and gave his friend a pat on the back, making him feel even more self-conscious.

"She seems nice," Nya said, causing all the other ninja to freeze.

"You've met her?!" Cole asked, his eyes wide in disbelief.

The samurai shook her head. "No, but anyone who's been able to put up with my brother for this long is obviously an amazing person," she said. The rest of the of ninja laughed, except for Kai.

"Hey!" the red ninja exclaimed. "I'm not that bad."

"Try having to live with you for nineteen years," Nya said. "I think it's a challenge."

Another bout of laughter echoed throughout the living room of the Bounty.

"But seriously," Nya continued. "I'd love to meet her sometime. You should invite her over one day."

The rest of the ninja were highly enthusiastic about the idea.

"Yeah," Cole said, in support of Nya's suggestion, "you should definitely bring her over sometime."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, she has to meet the family."

"Also," Lloyd piped in, "I just wanna see the look on your face when she kicks your butt at video games."

In the midst of all the comments and suggestions, Kai wondered how so much attention could be drawn to someone that they didn't even know. It made him feel kind of weird about it. To think that merely two weeks ago, Sam was a complete stranger. And since then, she had went from "the girl from the grocery store" to "Sam: the girl that Kai's been dating." It had been such a short period of time, and now they wanted to meet her. He liked her enough, but he was under the impression that introducing a date to the family was kind of an official thing, at least that's what he had concluded from what had seen on TV. Was he ready to take that step? He'd have to wait and see.

**Sorry if this chapter felt kind of rushed-I just wanted to get it up for you guys as soon as I could! Enjoy! :D**


	19. Chapter 19

The red ninja bounced his leg nervously as he sat in the control room, waiting for Sam to call. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Training was over for the day, and Kai wanted some peace and quiet, away from his rowdy brothers. He needed some time to think.

After Nya had suggested that he invite Sam over, the other ninja wouldn't stop asking him when she was coming over, which was grating on his nerves slightly. It's not like he didn't want her to meet them; it's just that it made their relationship more solid in his mind, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Plus, he felt like once they met her, he'd have to compete with them for her attention, and that, would no doubt, be irritating. It was really kind of selfish of him for thinking that way, but to be honest, he felt kind of protective of Sam at this point, and he didn't want to share her. He could only imagine what it'd be like if she came to visit-words such as disorder, chaos, and mayhem came to his mind.

Deep down, though, he knew he was overreacting. What was the worst thing that could happen if she came over? That they'd embarrass him? He was used to that by now. In reality, there was nothing truly terrible that could happen as a result of her visiting. If they met her, they could see how great of a person she was. It could actually be a good experience, for all of them. Maybe he and Sam would be closer. Maybe he would invite her over.

Problem was, he had told her to call him, so if he called first, he'd seem desperate, and he certainly didn't want to appear desperate in any way whatsoever. So there he was, waiting anxiously for Sam's phone call. Yep, totally not desperate.

"Whatcha doing, Kai?" Jay poked his head in the room, noticing his brother had disappeared from the action in the living room.

"Sam's supposed to call me," Kai said, glancing at the phone.

The blue ninja nodded in understanding.

"How are you guys, by the way?" he asked. "You didn't tell me how your date went yesterday."

Kai couldn't help but smile, thinking that Jay probably felt left out, since he had already told Lloyd and Cole about the date.

"It was good. She invited me to play tennis with her at the park."

"She's a tennis player?"

"Yeah. She doesn't play professionally though," the red ninja explained.

"Cool," Jay said, his curiosity increasing. "Who won?"

"It was a tie."

"Whoa, Kai, you actually did something athletic," Jay said, his eyes wide in amazement. "And you were somewhat decent."

"I know, right?" Kai said, joining in on the humor.

"What has this world come to?!" Jay exclaimed rather loudly, causing his voice to echo off the walls of the control room.

Kai put a finger over his mouth to silence the other ninja.

"Shush, Jay, I don't want everyone to know I'm in here. If someone saw me waiting by the phone, I'd never hear the end of it, especially from Lloyd."

The red ninja also didn't want them bothering him while he was talking with Sam.

"Sorry," Jay whispered. "Maybe someday I can show her some of my awesome moves." The blue ninja pretending to swing a tennis racquet.

"Sure, Jay," Kai said, rolling his eyes.

"But why don't you just call her first?" Jay asked, continuing to swing an imaginary tennis racquet.

"Because I told her to call me yesterday."

The master of lightning made a face. "Ooh yeah, don't wanna push it," Jay agreed. "You don't want her to think that you're so desperate that you're just sitting there, waiting for her to call and..."

The red ninja narrowed his eyes at his teammate

"...yeah."

"But what I do, Jay?" Kai asked, throwing his hands up. "She hasn't called me back yet. I'm new to this stuff. What if she's ignoring me? What if doesn't like me? What if she never calls me back? What if..." the ninja rambled on.

Jay put a hand over his brother's mouth, silencing him.

"She's probably just busy," he said. "She does go to school, right?"

Kai pushed Jay's hand away and nodded. "Yeah..."

"Then she's probably studying," the blue ninja said matter-of-factly."In the meantime, the phone'll still be there. Why don't you spend some time with us? Take your mind off her for a while," he suggested.

The red ninja was reluctant at first, but then he agreed. He was getting a little crazy. Maybe spending time with his brothers was what he needed.

"Okay," he said. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when I beat you at Fist to Face 2."

"No way, Kai, you totally stink at that game!"

* * *

It was Tuesday evening, and Sam still hadn't called. Zane was serving dinner, before sitting down himself to eat alongside his brothers and sister and his sensei at the table.

"This is delicious, Zane," Cole said as he stuffed more Shoyu chicken into his mouth.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the meal, except for Kai.

The red ninja was poking at his meal, not the least bit interested in eating. He kept thinking about what he could've possible done wrong to not make her call him.

From across the table, Zane sensed his brother's frustration and sought to comfort him.

"Do not worry, Kai, I am sure your lady friend will be in contact with you soon."

Lloyd smirked slightly at Zane's remark, but didn't comment. To be honest, he kind of felt bad for the red ninja. Kai had never seemed so down since they had lost Skylor on Chen's island.

"Yeah, cheer up, buddy," Cole said, taking another bite of chicken.

Kai continued to poke at his food, not making eye contact with any of his teammates.

"So..." Jay began, attempting to break the awkward silence that currently filled the room, "What have you got planned for us tomorrow, Sensei?"

Sensei had not said a word since he had sat down at the table with the rest of the ninja and Nya. He was thinking, as usual. He noted Kai's sullen mood, had known, even before Zane had said anything, that it had to do with the girl Kai had spoken to him about when they had had their private chat. The martial arts teacher debated whether or not he should confront his pupil, but decided against it, knowing that problems needed to be worked out on their own.

Sensei glanced up to see everyone besides Kai was watching him intently.

"I believe we will start with sunrise exercise," Sensei said, earning a groan from the other ninja. "And then we will continue with training as usual on the deck. Break time will be at 2."

The ninja sat there quietly, taking in their plan of torture for tomorrow, when suddenly, they heard a faint ringing coming from one of the other rooms.

"Hey, sounds like the phone's ringing," Jay announced, mostly for Kai's benefit. The blue ninja knew that no one they knew would be calling at this time of night, meaning the only person it could be was Sam.

At the mention of the word "phone", Kai, who had been sitting hunched over, sulking in silence, was now sitting upright, his eyes wide and alert.

"The phone?"

When he listened closely, he could hear the faint sound of the ringing telephone coming from the control room.

In a flash, the red ninja bolted out of his chair, almost knocking the seat over, and made a beeline for the control room.

The other ninja just sat there, smirking at their teammate's sudden excitement.

"He never gets that way when I call," Nya remarked, smiling as she watched her brother run into the wall on his way to the control room. "He usually waits for me to leave a message, and then he decides to answer."

The rest of the ninja chuckled. It was true-Kai had never gotten this excited, with Skylor and his true potential being the only exceptions. There was something about the girl from the grocery store that had captivated the ninja's attention, and the others were eager to find out what it was.


	20. Chapter 20

Kai raced down the hall, wanting to pick up the phone before it stopped ringing.

On the way to the control room, the red ninja had made a fool of himself, clumsily running into the wall, but he didn't care.

"Hello?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"Hey," a female voice answered. "This is Kai, right?"

"Y-Yeah," he said. "What's up?"

"I was calling to ask if you wanted to go to the grocery store tomorrow," Sam said. "It gets kinda lonely sometimes, and it'd be nice to have someone to go with."

To the red ninja, 'scary' was a better word to describe the grocery shopping experience, but didn't comment. He jumped at the chance to spend time with her.

"Yeah, sure."

"Great!" She sounded extremely enthusiastic, just for a simple trip to the grocery store, but Kai wasn't complaining. As long as she was happy, that's what mattered.

Except there was one minor problem: his training schedule.

"Only, my break time starts at 2, so is it okay if we meet up then?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, still sounding cheerful.

"Okay, so I'll see you at 2?" the red ninja said, confirming the plans.

"Alright. Sounds good."

Kai smiled."Great, see you then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After he hung up the phone, he heard someone clear their throat behind him. He froze, then slowly turned around to see the four other ninja standing there, each one with their arms crossed.

"You ditching us again, Kai?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I, uh..."

"As I recall, break time only lasts for ten minutes or so," Zane said. "How will you make it back in time?"

"He won't," Jay said, narrowing his eyes at the red ninja.

Kai gave him a sheepish look. "Promise not to tell Sensei, okay guys?" he pleaded.

"Sure thing, Kai," Cole stepped forward. "On one condition."

"And what would that be?"

The earth ninja glanced at his brothers before he answered, grinning deviously at the red ninja. "Bring back some cake."

* * *

As soon as Sensei announced it was time for a break, Kai ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the grocery store.

In hindsight, he should have agreed to meet her at 2:15 or something like that, but even so, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to change out of his ninja suit, knowing that Sensei would have probably noticed.

When he arrived at the grocery store, the red ninja knew he was late, about 15-20 minutes or so. Customers coming in and out of the store eyed him curiously, seeing he was wearing his ninja uniform, which was drenched in sweat from his training exercises.

The red ninja scanned the aisles closest to him as he walked in. He knew that Sam wouldn't be waiting in front of store anymore, since he was fairly late, and she was likely off collecting her groceries in a different part of the store. He hoped she didn't think that he had blown her off, otherwise, he'd feel incredibly guilty.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in head. First, he'd stop by the baking aisle and grab her a bag of marshmallows...which he had completely forgotten to get her in the first place after Jay had eaten hers. The red ninja face-palmed himself for being so stupid.

It didn't take too long to find the marshmallows. On the shelf, there was a single bag left, that had Kai's name on it-or Sam's, he supposed. He snatched it eagerly, then went to look for her.

After about five minutes of searching, he spotted Sam in the produce area of the store, near the apples.

Kai approached her, holding the bag of marshmallows out in front of him.

"Hey Sam," he said.

The girl turned around to see the spiky-haired brunette standing behind her.

"Hey," she said, flashing him a warm smile. "You made it."

Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah, I kind of snuck out during training."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," Kai chuckled nervously, thinking about the conversation he and Sensei were going to have when he got back. "But I wanted to see you."

The red ninja held up the bag he was carrying. "And I got you some marshmallows."

He handed the bag to her. "Jay kind of ate the ones I had at home."

Sam laughed, trying to imagine what that scene might've looked like. She had never met Jay, but she could tell he was funny.

"So what's up?" he asked, not knowing what else to say.

To his surprise, Sam lightly touched his arm. "I have to tell you something," she said, grinning broadly.

Kai slightly blushed at the contact, but quickly recovered after she started walking with her to pick up her other groceries. He wondered what had gotten her so excited.

The couple made their way down the cereal aisle before Sam spoke again.

"I got an internship," she announced to Kai, who stared at her, dumbfounded.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is an internship exactly?" he inquired.

He felt kind of stupid for asking, but being a ninja, he wasn't exposed to those type of things. However, Sam was happy to explain.

"It's where you work at a place for a period of time, mostly to gain experience and training," Sam explained. "And the best part is, I get paid."

Kai listened intently. Interning was still a foreign concept to him, but he could appreciate it better after she defined it for him.

"That's great!" he said. "How long is it?"

"For the summer, from the end of May until the end of August," she replied. "And guess where it is?"

"Enlighten me," Kai said teasingly, causing her to nudge him in a playful manner.

"Borg Industries!"

The red ninja's eyes widened. "Borg Industries?!"

"Yeah, I'm going to help design some of their machines."

"Wow, that's so cool," Kai said. "I bet Jay would be jealous."

"Really?"

The red ninja laughed. "Yeah, Jay's like obsessed with Cyrus Borg and all his inventions," Kai explained. "We visited him in his office once, that is, before we found out the Overlord was back and wanted to destroy us."

Sam looked at him curiously. As a ninja, he had some pretty random stories.

"Oh, is that all?" she asked sarcastically, unable to hide her amusement.

Kai realized how silly he must have sounded and started to laugh.

"Oh no, there's plenty more where that came from," he said. "But I'll save those for another time."

The couple continued walking down the various aisles with Sam casually dropping stuff into the cart every once in a while.

"So, do you do this every Wednesday?" Kai asked.

"Pretty much," Sam answered. "Wednesday is the only day of the week when I don't have classes, so I try to get all my shopping done at once."

At last, Sam had collected all her groceries, and the couple headed to the checkout.

"I'm paying for marshmallows," Kai said as they headed towards the checkout.

Sam shook her head. "You don't have to do that," she said.

"Yes, I do," Kai insisted. "I promised I'd give them back to you."

"Alright," Sam said with a smile, knowing she wasn't going to win the argument. "But I don't think I'd be talking to you right now if I hadn't given you the bag with my number on it."

As they entered one of the checkout lanes, Sam turned to Kai.

"I'm really glad you came."

The red ninja ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. "Don't mention it. I like spending time with you."

He took his wallet out, which, thankfully, he'd been able to grab before Sensei had noticed he was going somewhere, and pulled out a five dollar bill. He was glad he had brought it, since had had a feeling he might've needed it.

He handed the bill to Sam, who began setting her purchases onto the conveyer belt. Kai assisted her. He knew she was capable enough to do it herself, but he wanted to help.

As Sam was paying for her groceries, Kai noticed a woman and her son checking out as well in the next aisle. The boy was holding a helium balloon with Happy Birthday written on the front of it. The mother appeared to be buying other party supplies, such as streamers, plastic silverware, and cake...dang it, he'd forgotten the cake for Cole. Oh well, Sensei had probably figured it out by now, if he hadn't forced it out of one of them, probably Jay.

Besides the cake, looking at the party supplies gave the red ninja an idea. A good idea, actually.

"Hey, Sam," Kai said. "How would you feel about celebrating your internship?"


	21. Chapter 21

Back at the Bounty, Kai's absence did not go unnoticed by Sensei, who began to wonder where the ninja had gone off to after the ninja still hadn't appeared on the deck fifteen minutes when training had started again.

Kai is not usually this late, Sensei thought, but did not mention anything to the other ninja. He was suspicious that they knew where Kai had went, but he was not going to interrogate them. He had more tactful ways of getting them to talk.

"Ugh, these are so heavy, Sensei!" Jay whined as his teacher placed another book on his back.

Today, the sensei was teaching them the art of balance, to help with their coordination and fighting abilities.

"Balance is an important skill, my pupil," Sensei said.

He placed another book on each of the ninjas' backs, causing them to wince at the additional weight.

"I don't think I can take...anymore," Cole grunted, his muscles shaking under the weight of the books while struggling to balance them and keep them from falling.

"Just five minutes longer," Sensei said. "However, you might just be relieved of the burden earlier if you can tell me where Kai is."

The ninjas glanced at each other anxiously. In retrospect, they should've known Sensei was going to ask about him, but they had been so focused on keeping their own mouths shut, especially Cole, that they weren't prepared for when Sensei inquired about Kai's whereabouts.

"Uh, I don't know," Cole said, trying to sound innocent as possible. Nonetheless, Sensei saw right through it.

"You are lying. I can tell," Sensei said, looking his pupil in the eye.

Cole was silent, but held his teacher's gaze.

Sensei decided that he wasn't going to get much of a reaction out of the earth ninja, so he then turned to Jay.

"Perhaps Jay will be more cooperative."

A bead of sweat trickled down the ninja of lightning's forehead, and not because he was tired from balancing the heavy books on his back.

"Look, I don't know where Kai went," the blue ninja lied through his teeth. "He could be anywhere. Maybe he was sucked into a black hole, or he's at the grocery store, or he's stuck in a parellel universe, maybe trapped in a different dimension. But I'm just guessing here," Jay rambled on.

Sensei narrowed his eyes at the ninja, causing him to laugh nervously. "You never know."

However, the martial arts teacher's stern glare was enough to make Jay feel like wetting himself. The blue ninja bit his lip nervously. Guilt swelled inside of him. He couldn't lie to Sensei.

"Jay..." Cole warned, seeing his brother was about to crack. Lloyd and Zane could only watch as their teacher wore down their teammate.

"I..." The blue ninja prayed Sensei would stop staring at him, but his gaze remained steadily fixed upon him.

Finally, Jay's conscience couldn't handle the burden of hiding the truth from Sensei, combined with the weight on his back.

"Kai'satthegrocerystorewithSam!" he blurted out.

Lloyd and Cole face palmed themselves, causing them to lose their balance and topple to the ground, while Zane eyes were wide in astonishment at how easily his teacher had broken Jay.

The blue ninja stood upright, letting the books drop onto the deck of the Bounty.

"Sorry, Sensei," Jay said as he walked up to him. "I couldn't lie to you."

The martial arts teacher put a hand on his shoulder.

"That's alright, Jay. I am thankful for your honesty."

He then turned to the rest of the ninja, who were all sprawled out on the ground in exhaustion.

"As for the rest of you, I shall reward you with fifty push-ups."

The other three ninjas groaned.

"I sure wish I was Kai right now," Cole said, not caring if Sensei heard him or not.

* * *

Kai walked back the Bounty (he hadn't wanted to take the dragon earlier, since he didn't want to draw unwanted attention), purposely taking his time. He was rehearsing what he was going to say to Sensei, since he did, after all, sneak out, and no doubt he would be unhappy with him. Although he wouldn't admit it to his brothers, he was kind of nervous. Hopefully his teacher was occupied with the other ninjas so he could pretend he had been at the Bounty the entire time and pretend he had only skipped training.

However, when Kai returned to the Bounty, no one else was on the deck. Where did everyone go? he wondered. He had only been gone an hour or so.

"Ah, I see my pupil has decided to show," a voice said. The red ninja cringed, knowing who the voice belonged to. He turned around to find Sensei Wu standing behind him. "And where were you?"

Forgetting everything he had rehearsed on his trip back to the Bounty, Kai began to panic.

"I-I was here the entire time, Sensei. I had this huge headache so I decided to lay down...in my room...on the Bounty. I mean, where else would I be?" Great, now he was starting to sound like Jay.

Sensei narrowed his eyes at the red ninja. "What did I tell you about setting up dates during training time?"

Kai hung his head in guilt. "I'm sorry, Sensei, I-"

"You promised that you would not let your dates get in the way of your training."

"Yes, Sensei, I-"

That's when the red ninja wondered how Sensei knew he had been on a date.

"Wait, how do you know I was with Sam?"

"A little bird told me," Sensei said, not wanting to call Jay out for telling on him. Who said it was unimportant anyways. "So you were out with the girl from the grocery store?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah..."

"And how is she?" Sensei asked.

"Good..." the red ninja answered. He wasn't sure why Sensei cared, but he didn't want to make him angrier by asking.

"That is good," Sensei said. "Now, you and I will have our own private lesson to make up for your absence." A look of disapproval flickered across the teacher's face. "And I will not go easy on you."

* * *

Kai walked into the living room, his forehead dripping with sweat. Sensei hadn't been kidding when he had said he wouldn't go easy on him.

The rest of the ninja were lounging around as usual, since their training session had been done with earlier, once Sensei had found out Kai had skipped.

Hearing Kai enter, the ninjas glanced back to see their teammate red-faced and covered in sweat. It was then that Cole completely took back his comment about wishing he had been in Kai's place.

"You look exhausted," Cole remarked, noting the way Kai kind of stumbled as he walked.

"Yeah, Sensei went harder on me since I missed half the training today," Kai said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"That's unfortunate," Cole replied. "Hey, did you get me my cake?"

"No, I forgot," Kai said. "Besides, it wouldn't have mattered anyways. Someone told Sensei I snuck out."

"Hey, I held up my end of the bargain!" Cole retorted. "It was Motormouth here who blew your cover."

Jay glanced back from the video game and grinned sheepishly at the red ninja.

"Hehe, sorry Kai," he said. "My parents always told me I was never a good liar."

The red ninja rolled his eyes. "Whatever. It's all over now." He slumped into one of the bean bag chairs. "And now I have to convince Sensei to let Sam come over Friday night."

The rest of the ninjas ears perked up almost instantaneously at the mention of Kai's mysterious "girlfriend."

"Wait a minute-Sam's coming over?" Cole asked. The four ninjas looked at Kai expectantly, waiting for him to elaborate-after pausing their game, of course.

"Yeah, I told her she could come over to celebrate her internship."

Cole raised a brow in confusion. "Internship?"

"Yeah, it's like a job, but for students," Kai explained. "And you'll never guess where it is."

"Where?"

"Borg Industries!"

Jay's jaw practically dropped to the floor.

"Borg Industries?!" he exclaimed.

Kai nodded. "Yep, and because of it, she gets to stay in the city the entire summer."

"Aww, lucky!" Jay said, still obsessing over the fact that Kai's girlfriend was going to have the job of his dreams. "I've always wanted to work there! How come she gets to work there and I don't?"

"Because she actually applied for the internship," Kai said.

"And you're a ninja," Cole added. "It's not like you have time for a job. Remember when we all got jobs back when Lloyd was younger?"

"Yeah, that was the worst," Lloyd said, chuckling at the memory."You guys practically handed me over to the Serpentine. You'd make terrible parents. Which, speaking of, are you and Sam going to have kids, Kai?"

Kai's cheeks suddenly flushed a deep crimson color.

"Quit picking on the poor guy, would ya?" Cole said, jabbing Lloyd in the arm. "Or else you may not have kids."

"So what time will the festivities start?" Zane asked.

"We haven't really worked out the details yet," Kai replied. "I was thinking she'd come at 6 and we'd all have pizza."

"Don't forget cake!" the earth ninja said. He was determined to have his favorite dessert one way or another.

"Well, I'm excited to meet her," Jay interjected, his eyes fixed on the TV screen once more.

The red ninja smiled. "I'm excited for you guys to meet her too," he said. "I just hope Sensei'll be okay with it."


	22. Chapter 22

That night at dinner, Kai was trying to work up the nerve to ask Sensei about inviting Sam over. And, in his opinion, the other ninja weren't being very helpful.

Jay and Cole kept making eye contact with him and mouthing the words "ask him" repeatedly. In response, Kai would glare at them and mouth the word "later". Even after doing it multiple times, they still didn't get the message.

Lloyd, on the other hand, would wiggle his eyebrows and nod towards Sensei, almost like it was a dare. Zane was quiet, but kept smiling at the red ninja knowingly, glad that he was in on the secret.

Finally, the others couldn't take the suspense any longer, and Cole coughed loudly to get his teacher's attention.

"Uh, Sensei, I believe Kai wants to tell you something."

The red ninja shot his brother a dirty look before it dawned on him that his teacher had glanced up from his meal and now was staring at him, awaiting a response. Kai's face reddened in embarrassment, but he spoke anyways.

"Um, yeah, Sensei, I was wondering if..." the ninja cleared his throat. "...if possibly Sam could come over Friday night-just to hang with us."

Sensei did not say anything right away, instead, he tilted his head curiously, obviously not expecting Kai to ask such a question.

"You mean you want to invite your female friend over to the Bounty?"

The rest of the ninja and Nya, who was now intrigued by the conversation, looked at their teammate and brother, waiting for him to answer.

"...yes."

"And what brought this on?"

Kai was starting to get the feeling that Sensei did not approve with the amount of questions his teacher was asking.

"I don't know...I just thought that since we've been out a few times, it'd just be nice for everyone to meet her. They," he motioned toward the other ninja, "want to meet her."

"Yeah, we wanna see her, Sensei!" Jay said. "It would be so fun for the six us to hang out. And Nya," he said, including his girlfriend. "I mean, you can too if you want, Sensei." Although, the blue ninja highly doubted that their teacher would want to be a part of such a group.

"Come on, Sensei," Cole encouraged. "You have to let her come over. When are we ever gonna get an opportunity like this again?"

The martial arts teacher was silent, stroking his beard as he thought about Kai's proposal. He supposed it was inevitable that one of these days a ninja would bring a civilian to the Bounty-whether it was a family member, a friend, or a female friend which was indeed different than a regular friend. After all, he had five young men living on the ship, who were growing older right before his very eyes (literally in Lloyd's case). He supposed that if Kai was going to continue pursuing her, he would benefit from the experience.

He looked up and saw the ninja and Nya were watching him intently with eager expressions plastered on their faces.

"I suppose," he sighed. "That it would be alright if Sam visited."

The ninjas cheered, their excitement increasing for the Friday ahead. A civilian was coming to their home. The only civilians that had ever visited were Jay's parents, and while they were fun (except to Jay), it was nice to have someone their age coming over for once.

"I also wanted her to come over to celebrate her internship," Kai added. "She's real excited about it, so I thought it'd be a good idea if we could celebrate with her."

"And where is she interning?" Sensei asked. Unlike the ninja, he actually knew what an internship was.

"Borg Industries," Kai answered. "She's gonna work with Cyrus Borg to help create some of the inventions."

"Lucky," Jay muttered as he slumped into his chair with his arms folded. Needless to say he was still jealous.

Next to the blue ninja, Nya was already running through a mental list of things that needed to be done before Kai's lady friend came over.

"This is so exciting!" she exclaimed. "When were you going to tell me that Sam was coming over?" Until now, she had no idea her brother was planning to invite her over.

"I was going to eventually," the red ninja said. "But I wanted Sensei's permission first."

From across the table, the martial arts teacher nodded in approval, giving Kai hope that he had made up for skipping training earlier that day.

After dinner, when everyone was clearing the table, Cole was thinking of things to do when their guest arrived.

"Alright, when Sam comes over, we have to play Fist to Face 2," the earth ninja said, setting his dirty plate in the dishwasher. "Then we can see if she's actually good at video games."

"I bet you that she could beat Kai," Lloyd said, causing the red ninja to turn and glare at him.

"Yeah, anyone has to be better than Kai," the earth ninja said.

"Would you mind at least waiting to talk about me when I can't hear you?" Kai said, placing his own dish in the washer.

"Well, we could..." Lloyd said.

"It just wouldn't be as fun," Cole finished.

The red ninja rolled his eyes, but didn't comment.

"Okay, so we'll get pizza from Jim's Pizza Place," Nya confirmed, taking charge of the party planning. "Is that alright with you guys?"

The female samurai was busily scribbling notes on a piece of paper, getting everything ready for Sam's visit. She wanted to make sure that the girl's evening with Kai and his family was as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. She didn't know her, but like she had said before, anyone who was willing to stick around her brother this long was obviously a nice person.

Cole nodded in response to the samurai's question. "Yeah, I love Jim's pizza," he said. "Though their workers are questionable."

"Yeah, I hear they have some bizarre delivery people," Jay added. "Not that I would know..." Truth was, the blue ninja had worked for Jim's pizza as a delivery person a while back when they all had gotten jobs.

Suddenly, Cole had another great idea. "Hey, if she's living in a dorm, maybe she can bring her roommate with her," he said, earning a whack on the head from Sensei's staff.

"Ow," the earth ninja whined rubbing his skull. "What was that for?"

"There shall be no more than one girl visiting here at a time," Sensei said.

To one ninja, one girl was distraction enough. He couldn't imagine having multiple girls on the ship. Jay and Nya had been dating for a while, so that relationship didn't really count in his mind, even though he had been caught in the middle when Nya was asking for advice about which one she ninja she should choose-Cole or Jay. But otherwise, he didn't really need to keep tabs on them. The other four though, were a different story. He saw how distracted Zane was when he was around Pixal. And now Kai had a potential girlfriend in the picture. And it was very possible that there would come a day when Cole and Lloyd found someone as well. The thought of each ninja having a girlfriend made his head spin. Now he understood what being a parent must've felt like.

_By the grace of the First Spinjitzu Master_, Sensei thought, _help me get through this_.


	23. Chapter 23

Thursday was a fairly normal day for the ninja. Nya was occupied with making preparations for the get-together on Friday. While the ninja were training, she took a trip to the grocery store (Kai was relieved he didn't have to), and she bought snacks, including cake, as well as chips, cookies, and soda. After training, Jay decided to help her out with organizing everything. Of course, it wasn't a huge party, but Nya wanted to make it special, since it was the first time her brother was bringing somebody home—it was the first time any young female besides her would be coming to the Bounty. Overall, everyone was pretty excited. Especially Cole, since he knew there would be cake.

Friday afternoon, the ninja were lounging around after their long day of training. It was four-thirty, so Sam wouldn't be there for another hour and a half.

Kai decided he should start getting ready, since he wanted to look nice for her. He didn't want to be dressed in his usual ninja gi, and he had advised the other ninja to change out of their uniforms as well. He wanted Sam to feel as comfortable with possible, and being dressed in the same clothes that they used to fight evil snakes and skeletons and dark lords didn't seem very welcoming to him at all.

The red ninja walked into the ninjas' bedroom and found Lloyd holding two different shirts in his hand, both green, of course.

"Hey Kai," Lloyd said as he saw his teammate enter the room.

"Hey Lloyd," Kai answered, eyeing the shirts Lloyd was holding. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to decide what shirt I should wear when Sam comes over," the green ninja said. "Should I wear this shirt?" he asked, holding up the shirt in his right hand. "Or this one?" he said, holding up the shirt in his left.

Kai studied the shirts for a moment. "They look the same to me. They're both…green."

Lloyd sighed and shook his head. "No, Kai, one is forest green. And the other is spring green," he explained.

The red ninja frowned, obviously not seeing the difference in the color. "Look, as much as I'd like to help you out with your little fashion problem, I need to get ready for tonight."

Kai picked out what he was going to wear tonight-just his casual red hoodie, this time, with some jeans instead of his brown sweatpants. He then jumped into the shower, taking extra time to comb and style his hair afterwards, making sure every spiky strand was in place. As a finishing touch, he sprayed some of Jay's cologne on him. Hope Jay doesn't mind, the red ninja thought. He really needed to get his own cologne.

Forty five minutes later, the ninja was ready. Cole was currently in the shower, since he had been too lazy to do it right after training.

The next time Kai glanced at the clock, it was five forty five. His heart practically skipped a beat, knowing it would only be fifteen minutes before Sam would be there. To be honest, he was a tad nervous. What would she think of his family? Would she still like him after she met them? The ninja tried his best to shove those kind of thoughts out of his mind. They were irrational. She'd love them. They already loved her, and they didn't even know her. There was nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing.

* * *

Sam walked to the Bounty, anticipation swelling inside of her. Kai had called her Wednesday night to tell her that Friday was on, and that Sensei was okay with it.

She had left her dorm early to make sure that she'd be there on time, since she didn't know how long it'd take to reach the ship, which had landed and was now resting on the outskirts of the city.

While she was excited to meet the infamous ninjas, she also felt sort of nervous. This was Kai's family and she wanted to make a good impression on them. They also just happened to be the saviors of Ninjago for multiple years now, which was kind of intimidating, considering they faced danger often, and she was just a regular civilian that thought an internship was an accomplishment. Nonetheless, it was honor to be invited to their home. She wondered how often they had guests. Either way, it was an amazing opportunity, and she believed that she should make the best of it.

When she reached the Bounty, Sam could only stand and gawk at how big the ship was. It was definitely looked bigger up close than from far away, in terms of square footage.

The boards creaked slightly as she made her way up the stairs that led to the deck of the ship. There was no question that this was the place—what other massive ships used as living quarters were lying around? She went up to the door, and even from the outside she could hear voices, loud ones at that. Nonetheless, she rang the doorbell (which she couldn't believe actually existed), and heard a shuffling sound before the door opened, revealing a well-built young man with shaggy black hair.

"Hey, you must be Sam," the man greeted her. "Kai's been waiting for ya."

He motioned for her to come inside, which, from behind the man's shoulder, appeared to be quite big (seriously, how did the ship fly?), mirroring the size of a small house.

"Kai, your girlfriend's here!" the man with dark hair called out. He turned and winked at the girl, causing her to smile. Kai hadn't been kidding when he said the other ninja were his brothers.

"Shut it, Cole!" a voice replied from the interior. She instantly recognized the voice. Sure enough, a man with spiky brown hair came up to the door and shoved his friend aside.

"Hey, Sam," he said. "Sorry about Cole, he's kind of a pain."

"Hey!" the ninja known as Cole exclaimed. Kai ignored him completely.

"I'm glad you're here," he said. "The others are dying to meet you."

The red ninja took her hand in his, causing her to blush slightly, and led her inside. Sam took a moment to take in her surroundings. Overall, it was a very open space—there was a clear kitchen area, with appliances such as a fridge and a dishwasher, and a dining room table. There was also a living area with a TV and a couple of beanbag chairs. And on the couch sat two other young men, one with light brown hair, and the other was…a robot.

"Sam, this is Jay and Zane," Kai said, motioning to the two boys.

"Hi Sam!" the ninja known as Jay said, waving his arms in such a way that reminded her of a small child. "Kai's told us a lot about you!" The red ninja glared at his teammate.

The other young man, the robot, had a calm demeanor, unlike his overly enthusiastic counterpart.

"Hello, Sam," the man said. "It is very nice to meet you. It is not often that we have visitors."

"Hey, it's nice to meet you guys, too," Sam smiled. She could already feel herself warming up to Kai's friends. However, she was puzzled.

I've only seen four ninja, she thought. Aren't there five of them?

As if on cue, a young man with light blond hair entered the living room. He had decided to go with the forest green shirt instead.

"Hey, is Sam here yet?" he asked. That's when he noticed the light-haired girl standing next to Kai.

"Hey, you must be Sam," he said as he walked up to her. He took her hand shook it. "I'm Lloyd." So this must be the legendary Lloyd Garmadon, the girl thought. It wasn't too hard to figure out, since his name was practically everywhere, especially after his father, the former Lord Garmadon, sacrificed himself to save Ninjago from the dreaded Anacondrai army. Even at school, students talked about him. He was a legend, and there was no doubt why. In addition to his pure heart and amazing fighting abilities, he was also very handsome.

Cole realized that he hadn't formally introduced himself and shook her hand after she shook Lloyd's.

"I'm Cole," the earth ninja said. "You wouldn't have happened to bring your roommate by any chance?"

The red ninja rolled his eyes.

Sam laughed, shaking her head. "No, but I'm sure she'd love to meet you."

"Sam!"

A girl with dark, shoulder-length hair emerged from the hall, and ran up to her, a huge smile plastered on her face.

"I'm Nya," the girl said. "Kai's sister."

"Hey," Sam smiled back. In her opinion, she and her brother didn't look that much alike. The only feature that they seemed to share was the eyes. Like Kai, Nya's eyes also emanated the same kind of determination and resoluteness that her brother had.

"Can I get you anything?" Nya offered. "We have soda and some snacks to tide us over before the pizza gets here."

"Speaking of pizza," Cole interjected. "When's it going to be here?"

Nya frowned. "I don't know. I called it in for 6 o'clock, and it's already 6:15 so it looks like it's gonna be late, I guess."

"While we wait..." Jay said, a grin forming on his face. "How about we play a little Fist to Face 2?"

The earth ninja, who had been clutching his stomach in remorse over the late pizza, suddenly lit up. "I'm in," he said. He then turned to their guest. "How about you Sam? You in?"

The girl smiled, her slight competitive streak taking over.

"I'm in."


	24. Chapter 24

"Never thought you'd be so good at this, Sam," Cole said, his face twisted in concentration as the ninja and their guest were playing Fist to Face 2.

"Well, I have a little brother, so I've had a lot of practice," Sam replied, equally concentrating on the game.

Cole and Sam had been playing video games for about fifteen minutes, and she was surprisingly good at them. In the current round that they were in, she had already taken out Jay, who sat there in amazement as she was on her way to defeating Cole as well.

Of course, Lloyd couldn't resist participating in a fair round of video games; therefore, he decided to join in on the fun. And he had to admit, Sam was good, but not as good as him.

Soon enough, Sam defeated Cole, leaving the earth ninja dumbstruck. "Hey, no fair, I always win," he said.

"Yeah, except when you're playing against me," Lloyd retorted, grinning proudly. Now it was down to the final two.

"Okay, Sam, it's just you and me."

Everyone was gathered around the living room, including Nya, who were watching the battle unfold on the television screen.

"Go Lloyd!" Jay and Cole cheered.

"Go Sam!" Kai cheered, as well as Nya, who was giving her own words of encouragement in the background.

It was an intense round, but inevitably, Lloyd ended up being the victor.

"Haha, nice game, Sam," the green ninja said as he bumped her fist. "You're pretty good. Maybe you'll beat me next time." Unlike the rest of his brothers, he was also a good sport.

Suddenly, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Great, the pizza's here."

In a flash, Cole was up and walking towards the door. The earth ninja opened the door, revealing a young girl with dark straight hair and a teal colored jacket, carrying two boxes of pizza.

"Here's your pizza," she said flatly as she shoved the pizza box in Cole's hands.

"Uh, thanks," he said, noticing her unamused expression.

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Well?"

The earth ninja shook his head, confused.

"Well, what?"

"Well, where's my money?" the girl demanded.

"Oh, yeah. Right," Cole said, using his free hand to fish out a twenty from his pocket. He was so hungry that he forgot food cost money, unfortunately.

"Here you go," he said, handing the money to her.

The girl grabbed the cash, practically ripping it out of his hands.

"Thanks," she said, though the tone in her voice made him doubt she meant it.

"You're welcome?"

He was about to close the door on her when he noticed she was still staring at him.

"What?"

"You forgot to give me my tip."

"Tip?"

"Yeah, I had to drag my butt to get here-you're on the outside of the city for crying out loud-and on top of that, climb this big honking ship just to give you some flipping pizza," she said. "I think I deserve a tip."

Cole eyed her for a second before deciding that he didn't want to provoke her any more. He sighed and pulled out an extra five from her pocket.

"Here," he said, handing the money to her.

She scoffed, seeing the amount of money he we giving her. "That's it?"

"Yeah, it's not like I'm gonna give a _pizza deliverer_ a hundred bucks," Cole said, chuckling slightly. "That's a little excessive, don't you think?"

The dark-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

Before he could protest, the door slammed on him. On the other side of the door, he thought her mumble "cheapskate", but maybe it was just his imagination. She was weird anyways. Jay wasn't kidding when he said the workers of Jim's Pizza were messed up.

He quickly forgot about his awkward encounter with the girl after he caught a whiff of the delicious aroma of freshly-baked pizza. The scent was enough to make him drool.

He carried the boxes to the kitchen table and opened them, revealing one pepperoni pizza and one cheese pizza. His mouth watered.

"Alright, let's eat," he said. "I'm starving."

* * *

"Hey, remember when Kai got poisoned by the snake venom and it made him all loopy?" Jay said as the ninja and the two girls sat around the living room, enjoying their pizza.

Jay had gotten the other ninja and Nya to relay funny stories about their teammate and brother, just to embarrass him in front of Sam.

"Oh man, that was hilarious," Cole said, taking another bite of his pizza. "And remember the time when he tried on the green ninja suit 'cause he was convinced he was the green ninja?"

"Wait, what?" Lloyd said, confused. He knew Kai had been desperate to become the green ninja, but had no idea someone had tried on his uniform before.

The rest of the ninja, except for Kai, simply laughed, including Nya and Sam, who chuckled at the red ninja's expense.

"And to this day, Sensei still doesn't know," Cole added.

"What is it that I do not know?" a voice said.

The gang turned around and saw the martial arts teacher walk into the room.

"Uh..." Cole began.

"Uh, hey, Sensei, this is Sam," Kai said, trying to redirect his teacher's attention. The red ninja motioned over to Sam, who kindly waved at the old man.

"Hi," she said cheerfully. She couldn't explain it, but his presence was calming to her.

"And hello to you," Sensei returned the greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Kai has told me a lot about you."

The red ninja felt himself blush in embarrassment. "Sensei..." Kai said through gritted teeth.

The old man chuckled. "There is no shame in liking a pretty girl," Sensei said, stroking his beard. "Except when you are skipping out on training in order to see her."

Another bout of laughter echoed throughout the living room. Kai face palmed himself. He should have seen that coming.

Sam laughed, since she knew exactly what Sensei was talking about.

Kai had been worried that the all the jokes being pointed at him would diminish her attraction towards him, but, of course, they didn't. She was just happy being here with his family.

"Hey Sam," Lloyd said, flashing her a mischievous grin. "I think you and Kai should verse each other on Fist to Face 2."

"Yeah!" Cole agreed. "Then we'll see who's the best."

Kai turned to Sam. "Do you want to?" he asked, waiting for her approval.

Sam smiled. "Sure," she said. "But I won't go easy on you."


	25. Chapter 25

"I bet Sam's gonna win," Jay said as the ninja and Nya surrounded the television screen.

Sam and Kai were sitting directly in front of the TV, lost in the game.

"I sense she will win as well," Zane said, agreeing with Jay. "Kai does not posses the skills he needs to win."

"Has he ever won this game?" Cole asked.

"Don't think so," Jay answered. "If he does, it'll be a miracle."

"Thanks for the support, guys," Kai said, eyes still glued to the screen. He had to admit, Sam wasn't easy competition.

"Come on, Sam, kick his rear end!" Jay cheered.

Meanwhile, Sensei sat at the kitchen table, observing the group in the living. He had to say he liked the way Sam brought life to his students, not that they weren't already lively enough, but it was an enthusiasm he hadn't seen from his students, especially from Kai, after they had defeated Chen. A very positive atmosphere emitted from the living room, and there hasn't been a single squabble or fight between the ninja since she had arrived.

"Haha, good one!" Cole yelled as Sam landed a punch on Kai, in the game, of course.

The red ninja grunted-he wasn't about to give up just yet. "Okay, no more Mr. Nice Guy," he said, as he flipped his avatar and attacked Sam from behind.

Sam's avatar crumpled to the ground, causing their audience to wince.

"Get up! Get up!" Jay urged, but it was clear her resolve was weakening. She still had a higher HP than Kai did, but it was quickly decreasing with each passing second.

Lloyd watched the game intently. He saw Sam's avatar get up to prepare for another attack, but there was something off about the way she was playing.

Kai only had one hit left before he lost the game. Sam swung at him, missing him completely. Lloyd noticed her falter slightly, and that's when he realized that she missed on purpose.

In response, Kai swung his avatar's leg and tripped her, causing her avatar to fall, ultimately winning the game.

"Yes!" he cheered.

Everyone's jaw dropped. Kai had actually won the game.

"What just happened?" Jay asked, eyes wide in amazement.

"We must be in a parallel universe," Cole said, staring at the screen.

Kai turned to Sam. "Hey, that was a good game," he said. He then turned to his brothers. "Guess who's the Fist to Face champion?"

"But..." Jay started.

"That's not possible," Cole finished.

However, Lloyd was silent, which did not go unnoticed by the red ninja.

"What's the matter, Lloyd?" Kai said. "Afraid to admit that there's a new champion in this house?"

Lloyd, who had been deep in thought, realized the red ninja was talking to him and smirked. "Nope, you're the best."

Kai chuckled. "I'd say it's time for another round. You in, Cole? Jay?" he asked. He wasn't about to let his moment slip away too fast.

The two ninja glanced at each other. "Uh.."

"What's the matter? Afraid you're gonna lose?" Kai taunted.

Fortunately, Cole wasn't one to turn down a challenge, especially when it tested his courage.

"Okay, game on, Sparky," the earth ninja said. "Show me what you got."

The three ninja became completely engrossed in the game, unaware of anything else going on around them. Nya had left the room while Zane continued to observe the game intently, sitting on the floor beside brothers, which left Lloyd and Sam on the couch to watch the battle unfold.

A few minutes into the game play, Lloyd turned to Sam.

"Hey," he said. "I know you let Kai win earlier," he said, smirking.

Sam shook her head, pretending she didn't understand what he was talking about. "What?"

Lloyd chuckled. He knew she was trying to hide the fact that it was true. "Yeah, I know you went easy on him. I'm a video-game expert, so you can't pull the wool over my eyes," he said. "You had the perfect chance to defeat him, but you chose not to."

Sam felt herself blush in embarrassment. "Was I obvious?"

Lloyd chuckled again. "Yeah, you may have fooled the others, but not me." He met her gaze."You really like him, don't you?"

Sam felt the heat in her cheeks rise once more. "Yeah," she said. "I do."

For a split second she saw a look of disappointment flicker across the green ninja's face, or some look she couldn't quite decipher, but it soon vanished.

"Kai's a good guy," he said. "He can be a little full of himself, but he's one of the most loyal people I've ever met. I'd trust him with my life. He even saved my life back when I was a kid, actually." Lloyd smiled, recalling a much simpler time, before he had all this responsibility. "And I can tell he really likes you."

Sam's heart lurched. "He likes me?" Deep down, she kind of already knew, but hearing it out loud was different.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, he's been kind of down in the dumps lately, but after he met you, he's like his usual self again, maybe slightly more annoying," he joked, making her laugh. "But if he causes you any trouble, let me know and I'll set him straight."

His eyes locked with hers, and that's when she noticed what a vibrant green color they were.

"I-I will," she said.

They exchanged smiles before they heard the blue ninja cheer excitedly.

"Haha! I win!" Jay exclaimed, following Kai and Cole's sighs of defeat.

This had now been the third time Cole had lost at video games today, including the round he had played earlier that afternoon with Jay and Zane, which made him a tad grumpy.

"I think now would be a good time to have some cake," the earth ninja said.

There was nothing that a little cake couldn't fix.

* * *

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful at the Bounty. The ninja and the girls sat at the kitchen table, talking and eating their cake, and to simply appreciate being in each other's company.

Sensei had gone back to his room to meditate and to enjoy his tea in peace. This was, after all, a party for the young adults. Plus, he thought old man such as himself needed to watch his calories, so he decided to pass on the cake for the time being.

Sam sat between Kai and Zane, while, on the other side of the table, Nya sat in between Jay and Lloyd. Cole sat on the end, happily devouring his cake, oblivious to anything else going on around him.

Throughout the dessert, Sam kept stealing glances at the green ninja. It was practically surreal to have the greatest hero in all of Ninjago sitting mere feet away from you, let alone sharing a meal with you and having a conversation with you. The kitchen lights overhead reflected against his shiny blond hair, reminding her of someone...

"So, Sam? When do you start your internship?" Jay asked, breaking her thoughts.

Sam realized that she had been staring at Lloyd and quickly diverted her eyes, hoping no one had noticed.

"May 31st," she said. "That means I have to find an apartment before the school year ends, since I'm not going back home."

The blue ninja rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that," he said. He remembered how difficult it had been to find an apartment to help train Lloyd in a couple years ago.

Kai put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll find one," he reassured her, glaring at his teammate.

"So, what are you studying exactly?" Nya asked. She was curious, since she had never gone to college, so she wondered what an average female student such as Sam would be studying.

"Computer science," Sam answered. "I'm not sure what field I want to go into exactly, but I hope my internship will help me figure it out."

"That's cool," Cole said, slightly distracted by his dessert. "By the way, this cake is really good."

"Thanks, it's store bought," Nya said, smiling. "The best cake I've ever made."

There was a long silence before Lloyd decided to speak.

"So, Sam, you gonna come around here more often?" he asked.

The rest of the ninja looked at Kai expectantly, waiting for an answer.

The red ninja rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a faint blush forming across his face. "Yeah, she will," he said. He then turned to Sam. "If that's okay with you."

Sam laughed. "Of course it is. I like your family."

"But you're gonna come when the rest of us are here, right?" Cole said, narrowing his eyes at Kai.

"Yeah, you can't keep her all to yourself, Kai!" Jay exclaimed. "You have to share!"

Kai chuckled softly. "Don't worry," he said, putting his arm around her. "I will, I promise."

She gave him a smile, a warm smile that seemed to melt his heart from the inside out, and that's when he knew there was no turning back. He was falling for Sam, and he was falling hard.

"But who says I can't be selfish every once in a while?"

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who's been reading my story! I hope you all are enjoying it! Remember to rate and review! :D**


	26. Chapter 26

Despite Kai's previous worries, Sam actually had a great time on the Bounty. He had worried that his brothers' teasing and banter would be too overbearing or overwhelming for her to handle, however, strangely enough, his brothers had been on their best behavior, and Sam had done a good job with blending into the group. Even after meeting her for the first time, they were already treating her like she was part of the family.

The small-talk at the table carried on for about forty five minutes until Sam glanced up at the clock in the kitchen, and realized it was getting late.

"I suppose I should be heading out," she said, reading the time. It was a little after 11. Of course, it was Friday night, so it wasn't like she had to be anywhere the next day, but she didn't want to outstay her welcome. Plus, she was tired.

Kai yawned as he stretched his arms behind his chair. He looked at the clock and saw it was getting late as well. The evening had passed by so quickly. He supposed all good times must come to an end at some point, no matter how much he didn't want them to.

"I'll walk you to the door," the red ninja said. He thought it was a gentlemanly thing to do, especially with his friends watching.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Sam," Nya said, smiling at the girl.

"Yeah, we hope we'll see you again soon," Jay added. He thought it was cool to have someone around that worked for Cyrus Borg. Also, he secretly hoped that maybe she'd share her experiences with him, and maybe she'd have a "bring your friend to work day" or something. _That'd be cool,_ he thought, practically drooling at the image of seeing Cyrus's inventions up close.

"It was nice meeting you guys too," Sam said. "Thanks for having me over."

"No problem," Cole answered, finishing his third slice of cake. "We're glad to have you."

After everyone said their goodbyes, Kai led her to the door.

"Hey, I'm really glad you came, he said. He chuckled to himself knowing it wasn't the first time he had said that to her. "I hope you had a good time."

"I did," Sam replied. "I had a lot of fun." And she meant it. Hanging out at the Bounty was probably one of the most exciting things she had done in a while. Like she had said before, she only had one brother, so having several around was quite entertaining.

"Will you make it back to your dorm okay? Do you want me to walk you there?" The red ninja offered. He had never gone to college, but he knew that sometimes it could be dangerous for a young woman to walk across campus by herself. He wanted to make sure she was safe, but deep down, he also wanted to prolong their time together.

Sam shook her head, grateful for the offer, but knew that she would be okay without his assistance.

"They have campus escorts," she said. "They're people that the college hires to make sure students get back alright."

"I see." Kai nodded, mildly disappointed. He glanced down at his feet anxiously, not knowing what else to say.

His mind raced, desperately searching for words. _Come on, Kai, think of something_.

He didn't want to leave it on this note, especially when he had had such a great evening.

"You know I meant it when I told the guys I was planning to have you over again," he practically blurted out.

Sam's eyes widened. "Really?" It was a random thing for him to say, but nonetheless, it made her heart skip at beat.

He looked up at her. "Yeah, I'd love for you to come over again sometime," he said. "If you want to."

He did not want to seem pushy, since the others had told him he had a tendency to be possessive.

Of course, Sam didn't take his offer as being assertive or forceful, instead, she was flattered that the red ninja wanted to spend time with her. And frankly, she liked spending time with him as well.

"I'd like that," she said, causing the red ninja to blush in embarrassment.

"Hope my brothers didn't bother you too much," he said. "They usually get excited when we have guests over...as often as we have them," he added, jokingly. It was a silly thing to say, since they rarely had any visitors in the first place.

Sam smiled and shook her head again. "No, not at all. It's nice you have a family that cares about you so much."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky."

An awkward silence followed, neither party sure of what to do or say next, yet, there was a hesitancy, a certain reluctancy for the couple to part ways.

Kai stole a glance at Sam, admiring how pretty she looked in her civilian attire. He couldn't pinpoint what it was, but there was something about the civilian life that fascinated him. While he and other ninja were used to wearing their ninja uniforms everyday, everyone else in Ninjago wore normal clothing most of the time.

Sam caught his gaze, and the red ninja felt his cheeks start to burn, realizing that he had been staring at her. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Uh, so, will I be seeing you again anytime soon?" he asked, feeling the slightest bit bashful.

Sam thought for a moment, the stresses of reality coming back to her.

"Well, I have finals next week, so I have to study for those," she said. "And I have to look for an apartment, as well as get ready for my internship, so that's going to take up a lot of my time."

She sighed. "And on top of that, I have my usual grocery shopping on Wednesday," she added. "So basically I'm going to be very busy."

That's when she noticed the defeated look on the red ninja's face, causing her to experience a pang of remorse in her heart.

"But when I'm available," she said, taking his hand, "You'll be the first to know."

She didn't understand why, but it had seemed like the right thing to do. It felt so natural to her, which was odd since she had only been in a couple minor relationships beforehand, the last one ending pretty badly. Still, it just felt right to her.

Kai realized that he was holding her hand, and his heart fluttered. His eyes met hers, and that's when he knew that she would make time for him. Sure, they led completely different lives, but they would make it work.

"Alright," he said, gently squeezing her hand. "I'm gonna hold you to that," he teased, making her laugh.

"As long as it's not during your practice time," Sam retorted, "Wouldn't want you to miss that. Then _I'd_ get in trouble with Sensei."

Kai chuckled. "No way, Sensei likes you. It'd be my fault for putting you before training. He'd surely kill me if I did that again."

After the laughter had died down, the couple exchanged smiles, knowing they would be seeing each other again. As much as Sam would've loved to stay at the Bounty forever, she had her own responsibilities to fulfill. But she promised that after the craziness of the week ahead was over, she would gladly spend more time with the red ninja.

"Good night, Kai," she said.

"'Night, Sam."

He softly let go of her hand, and watched her leave, an empty feeling building in his chest. After all the activity that had taken place the past few hours, even one person missing made the Bounty seem quieter.

In fact, the Bounty was too quiet. Meaning, there was no noise whatsoever coming from the kitchen. Having five young adult males in the house, it was hardly ever quiet.

He shut the door after seeing that Sam had left the ship without trouble, then turned around to find all four of his brothers standing at the end of hall, watching him.

"Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow, boys," Cole said, placing both his hands on Lloyd and Zane's shoulders, who were standing on either side of him.

"Come on, Kai, you call that a goodbye?" Jay said, making kissy-faces at the red ninja from behind the others.

"Ugh," Kai face-palmed himself at his brothers' antics. He knew it was all in good-humor, but it could exasperate him at times.

"What do ya think, guys? Is it safe to say Kai officially has found a girlfriend?" Cole teased.

"I think he has to kiss her first before it's official," Lloyd said, grinning deviously at his red-clad teammate.

"Lloyd!" Kai glared at his brother, a blush creeping across his cheeks.

"Yeah, I think the code of dating is that you do have to kiss before you are officially boyfriend and girlfriend," Jay interjected.

The red ninja rolled his eyes. "What are we, a bunch of eight year olds?"

"Actually, lip contact is usually the first indicator of being in a romantic relationship," Zane stated matter-of-factly.

"Thank you, Zane," Kai muttered sarcastically.

"Either way, we're glad for ya, buddy," Cole said.

The red ninja smiled, realizing the earth ninja was being sincere. "Thanks, Cole, I just hope everything works out."


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry for not updating sooner, guys! I had some major writer's block, and I just couldn't bring myself to write anything this week. Thankfully, I had some help with this chapter. Anyways, enjoy, and don't forget to review! :D**

* * *

Since Friday night's party, things at the Bounty had been fairly quiet. Aside from training, everyone seemed to be busy, except for Kai, who had nothing else to do but pace his room anxiously, wanting to hear from Sam again.

He had called her on Sunday to wish her luck on her exams. He admitted that he was becoming quite attached to her, though, he wasn't about to use the L-word just yet. There was still a lot more time that had to pass before he even willing to consider using that word to describe what he felt for Sam. He didn't know if he was capable of producing those feelings, especially after he had lost Skylor.

The red ninja shook his head, trying to free himself of the thought. What he had with Sam was great, and he wasn't going to let anyone or anything ruin it.

Except when he had called her Sunday night, she had sounded stressed. She had told Kai that she had invested several hours of time on Saturday looking for an apartment, but still was unsuccessful. She said she would be going to try again on Monday, in between studying for her exams.

Now it was Wednesday afternoon, and Sensei had just let the ninja take their 2 o'clock break. Kai decided to give Sam a quick call to see how she was doing.

However, this time, it was her roommate who answered the phone when he called.

"Hello?" a different female voice answered.

"Uh, hi..." Kai said, a bit caught of guard. "Is Sam there?"

"No, she isn't here right now. Can I take a message?"

Kai's heart sunk. "Um, could you tell her that Kai called to say hi?"

There was a short gasp on the other end of the line. "Oh, hi, Kai, I'm her roommate, Brooke. You're the guy whose house she went to on Friday. She said she had a lot of fun."

That comment made the red ninja feel a little better about Sam's absence.

"Yep, that's me," he stated proudly. He could hear the girl chuckle slightly on the other end.

"Anyways, Sam went to the grocery store. She's really bummed out right now."

The red ninja's eyes widened in alarm. "What? Why?" he asked.

"She still can't find an apartment, and if she doesn't get one by tomorrow, she says she'll have to cancel her internship and move back home for the summer."

A wave of panic washed over Kai. His thoughts raced. _Sam can't move home for the summer! She'd be gone till September!_

He collected his thoughts momentarily. "Uh, ok, well, thanks for the info, Brooke."

"Welcome. Anytime."

"Thanks. Bye."

Kai hung up, shaking his head in disbelief. Was it really possible that Sam could be gone in just two days? And he wouldn't even have had a chance to see her before she left.

Suddenly, the red ninja had an idea.

_Unless..._

He stood up, sauntered casually over to the door, trying not to raise suspicion, went outside, closed the door quietly behind him, and bolted for the grocery store.

* * *

Sam sighed as she paid for her groceries, her head spinning.

She had been frantically searching for an apartment, knowing that by the end of the week, she'd have to go back home if she didn't. Then she'd have to forego her internship, when she had really been looking forward to it.

She felt her eyes water the more she thought about it. She could've just about kicked herself for not looking earlier, knowing she would get caught up in her studies the time finals came around. An apartments were hard to find in Ninjago City, especially when many of her fellow classmates were in the same boat she was in, and were trying to find apartments as well. Jay had been right when he had said apartments were hard to come by. It was always so crowded in the city-it'd be a miracle if she could find one.

Kai arrived at the grocery store just as Sam was leaving with a single bag, and immediately noticed that she looked upset. Without thinking, he ran up to her, out of breath from his sprint from the Bounty.

"Kai! What are you doing here?" Sam exclaimed in surprise when she spotted him in his sweaty uniform. She remembered he was sweaty last Wednesday when he had ditched practice to come here. "You aren't going to get in trouble with Sensei again, are you?"

"Probably," Kai admitted, still panting. "But I had to see you. Your roommate said you might be going back to your hometown at the end of the week."

"Yeah," she said, looking down at the ground. "The dorms close on Friday, so unless an affordable apartment suddenly turns up tomorrow, I have no choice but to go back home. "

Then she looked up at him and held up the bag she was carrying. "That's why I only bought enough stuff for today and tomorrow."

Kai could tell that Sam was on the verge of getting emotional. The stresses of apartment hunting and final exams were definitely taking a toll on her.

"I was really looking forward to my internship," she frowned, her throat tightening. She felt her eyes water once more, and quickly tried to bat the tears away. The last thing she wanted was to get emotional in front of him.

Kai put his hand on her shoulder, trying to think of something to say that would comfort her. But only crazy, random thoughts flew through his head.

Jay was looking forward to the internship, too. _If she cancels the internship, there won't be any interesting stories about Borg Industries for Jay and the rest of us to hear while we eat pizza on the Bounty._

_The Bounty!_

"Hey, Sam, wanna stay on the Bounty his summer?" Kai blurted out.

Sam stared at him blankly. "What?"

The red ninja fought the urge to cover his mouth. The cat was out of the bag now, he couldn't take it back.

"Yeah, I'll ask Sensei if you can live with us this summer," he said, almost talking to himself more than her. "There's already an extra bed in Nya's room. And maybe you can pay a little rent with the money you're going to earn. And it's temporary, 'cause you'll be moving back into the dorm when your school starts up again. It's a perfect idea!"

She did not seem completely convinced, but a tiny sliver of hope flickered in her blue eyes. "Maybe...I mean if Sensei's okay with it."

"Of course he'll be okay with it!" Kai said, trying to sound as confident as possible, although deep down he wasn't sure if his teacher actually would approve. "Look, I'm gonna talk to Sensei now, and we'll get this whole mess straightened out. He'll say yes; I know he will."

Sam still wasn't convinced. "Alright..." she said. "If you think that'd be okay. I don't wanna intrude or anything."

Kai waved her remark aside. "Nah, we'd love to have you." He paused. "_I'd_ love to have you."

Sam felt the heat in her cheeks rise. "...That's very nice of you, Kai," she said.

The red ninja smiled. "Don't mention it," he answered. I'm gonna go talk to Sensei now. Wish me luck."

Sam watched as Kai sprinted out of the store and down the street on his way back to the Bounty. She was skeptical, but maybe there was a chance it would work out.

As Kai ran, it occurred to him that this was not the first time he had invited a girl to live on the Bounty. A wave of remorse washed over him, but it quickly passed, thinking about Sam and how happy she'd be once she was living on the Bounty. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of spending a whole summer with her-all the things they would do and the places they would go. It would be so much fun.

There was just minor detail: Sensei had to approve of it. And that would be a challenge.


	28. Chapter 28

When he arrived back at the Bounty, Kai burst onto the training deck.

"Sensei!"

Everyone's head snapped up, and all eyes immediately focused on Kai.

Sensei frowned; he was clearly unhappy.

"Kai, I need to have a word with you. Please come with me now."

The red ninja cringed at the sternness his teacher's voice. He didn't usually sound this harsh, except when he was very angry.

"Yes, Sensei. I'm glad you want to speak with me because I would like to speak with you, too. I know you're angry with me about skipping out on practice again, but I can explain and then you'll understand," Kai babbled on just like Jay would, as he followed his teacher into his meditation room. He was nervous about what consequences Sensei had in store for him, but he was more nervous about what Sensei would say when he asked him about Sam staying at the Bounty.

When they reached the room, Sensei closed the door behind them. "Explain," he demanded.

Kai took a deep breath, preparing to give Sensei entire story.

"Ok. At break time I only intended to call her," Kai said. It was no mystery to Sensei who he was referring to. "But her roommate answered the phone and said she might have to cancel her internship and go back to her hometown on Friday for the summer 'cause she hadn't found a place to live."

Sensei remained silent, stroking his beard. He had seemed to calm down after his initial reaction, but that didn't mean that he wasn't still angry at Kai for disobeying him.

The red ninja sighed. "Look, I know I broke the rules and I went to see her, and I'm sorry for that, Sensei. And I know I deserve to be punished. But I couldn't let her go without seeing her one more time."

Sensei continued to stroke beard, deep in thought. "She must've been upset about losing the internship."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, she was really upset about it. But then I had a great idea. What if she lived here on the Bounty this summer? There's room for her, and she could keep her internship, and since she'll get paid, she could put some of her money toward rent and food and stuff."

The air around them became completely still, as the sensei continued to study the ninja quietly.

"Please, Sensei, it would mean the world to her," Kai pleaded. "It would just be a couple months, 'til September."

Sensei turned away from him, thinking as he paced across the room. The red ninja silently prayed that he hadn't made a mistake by asking.

Finally, after what seemed like forever to Kai, the martial arts teacher spoke again.

"If I were to give my permission for this arrangement, you do realize that much would be required of you."

Kai's eyes brightened with newfound optimism. "Of course, Sensei. I'll lead the others in sunrise exercises for however many days you'd like. I'll clean up the training equipment every evening. I'll even do all the grocery shopping for the next three months." Anything, anything to convince Sensei to let Sam stay with them.

"Those things are all very good, but discipline must also be included. Your training must be your top priority."

The red ninja bowed his head. "I understand, Sensei."

"Therefore, I suppose..."

Kai glanced up at his teacher. _He isn't saying what I think he is..._

"...that it would be alright if Sam stayed with us for a little while."

The fire ninja's heart leaped with joy at his sensei's words. "Really?"

Sensei nodded, a small smile forming on his face.

"Thank you, Sensei!" Kai shook his teacher's hand.

"You are welcome, Kai," Sensei said, overwhelmed by his pupil's excitement. "However, you must not fail to live up to your duties as a ninja, or else other living arrangements may need to be made."

"Don't worry, Sensei. You won't regret this," Kai reassured. "I promise."

"Very well. Bring Sam here this evening after dinner so that we may finalize details."

"Yes, Sensei. I'll let her know right now!"

Kai ran to the door to call Sam. As he approached, it he heard voices.

"He's coming!"

"Hide!"

"Ow, you stepped on my hand!"

Kai opened the door to see the other four ninjas sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh, hi, Kai! We were just, uh, looking for something," Jay said, flustered.

"Um, yeah, we weren't, like, listening or anything," Cole stated.

"Especially not the part about Sam living on the Bounty this summer," Lloyd added.

"It would be rude to eavesdrop," Zane interjected.

Kai rolled his eyes, knowing full well what his brothers had been doing. "Whatever," he said, and leaped over them on his way to the phone in the control room. He couldn't wait to share the good news with Sam.

In a flash, the red ninja dialed her number to her dorm room, excitement surging through him.

"Hello?" Sam answered the phone. Apparently she had made it back from the grocery store.

"Guess who?" Kai asked in a sing-song voice. Immediately, Sam knew who she was talking to.

"Kai?" she said, chuckling slightly at the red ninja's antics.

"The one and only," Kai answered, laughing as well. "Guess what? I talked to Sensei, and he said you can stay with us!" He wasn't sure who was more excited-him or Sam.

"Really? Wow, that's great!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, and he wants you to come over tonight to talk to him about it."

"Oh, okay. What time should I be there?" Sam asked. She had exams tomorrow, so she had planned to study for most of the evening, but making a good impression on Kai's teacher was more important to her at the moment, since, after all, she was going to be living on the Bounty for the entire summer.

"He said after dinner, so why don't you stop by around 7:30?" Kai suggested. "I'll come get you."

"Alright," Sam agreed. "And again, thank you so much, Kai, for everything."

"Anytime," the red ninja said, a grin plastered on his face. "I'll be there around 7:15 to pick you up."

"Sounds good."

"Okay, see you, Sam. Bye. Bye."

After he hung up the phone, Kai breathed a huge sigh of relief. Everything was going to plan. Sensei had said yes, and now the cute girl from the grocery store, now known as Sam, was now going to be living with them, in his home. He couldn't believe this was happening.

* * *

After dinner, the red ninja hurried to Sam's dorm building, anticipation swelling inside of him.

As expected, the girl was standing outside in a pretty white blouse paired with some jeans and flats. She did want to make a good impression, after all. One look at her and Kai was sold. She could've been wearing sweats for all he cared, though. She still would've looked cute.

"Hey, Sam," he called out to her.

The girl turned her head and saw the red ninja approach her.

"Hey, Kai." She smiled warmly at him, and he felt like he could've just melted on the spot seeing her look so happy.

"Hey. Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing towards the street.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous," she said, fidgeting with her hands slightly.

Kai noticed the constant moving of her hands, and boldly took one of them into his.

"Don't worry," he reassured. "Sensei doesn't bite...well, unless it's me skipping out on training, then yes, he does bite," Kai teased, earning a chuckle from Sam. "He already likes you. He just wants to talk about how you're gonna pay rent and stuff like that. No big deal."

For a moment, Sam forgot about her worry and focused on the sensation of having the red ninja's hand in hers. She felt herself blush noticing how strong and firm his hand was compared to her smaller, more daintier one. And it was a lot warmer too. His body seemed to radiate heat, which made sense, considering he was the fire ninja. She couldn't explain it, but it felt right to her, being with him. It crossed her mind that maybe there was more going on between them than what she was willing to admit, to her roommate and to herself. With his soft brown eyes and charming, lopsided grin, she could feel herself falling deeper into a state of enchantment the longer she looked at him.

"No doubt _I'm_ gonna be the one who gets lectured," Kai added, interrupting her train of thought. "Sensei thinks I don't have enough self-discipline." Obviously, the red ninja thought otherwise.

Sam laughed. "And what did you do to make him think that?"

"Well, besides missing out on training," Kai said, "he thinks I get distracted easily."

He avoided Sam's gaze, as to avoid indicating that she was one of his so-called "distractions", according to his teacher.

"Anyways, shall we go?" he asked.

Sam nodded, and the two headed for the Bounty.

Accident or not, Kai's hand remained in hers the entire way there.


	29. Chapter 29

When they arrived at the Bounty, Sam was greeted enthusiastically by the other ninja and Nya.

The others had just finished cleaning up after their meal and were simply hanging out in the living room. Dinner had been later than usual, so Kai was able to skip out on the cleaning up part, since he had gone to pick up Sam.

"Hey, Sam," Nya said as the other girl walked into the room. Unlike the boys, the samurai decided to pass on the video games.

"Hey, Nya." Sam smiled at the fact she was greeted so warmly by Kai's family.

The red ninja looked around the room, noticing his teacher was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Sensei?"

As if on cue, the old man emerged from the hall, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Hello, Sam," Sensei said, acknowledging the girl's presence.

"Hi, Sensei," Sam replied. She brushed off the imaginary dirt off her blouse, feeling slightly self-conscious around the martial arts teacher.

"I am pleased to hear that you will be staying with us this summer," Sensei said, taking another sip of his tea.

Sam blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah, I had a lot of trouble finding an apartment. With studying and final exams coming up, I didn't start looking until it was too late."

Sensei nodded in understanding. "Well, we are glad to have you. I'm sure Kai is especially glad."

"Sensei..." the red ninja said through gritted teeth.

However, his teacher ignored it completely.

"Come, let us talk about living arrangements."

Sam followed Sensei into the hall to speak with him, when the martial arts teacher realized that Kai was following him. Sensei turned around to stop him. "I would like to speak with Sam individually."

Reluctantly, Kai returned to the living room to wait for her.

* * *

Overall, Sam thought that her meeting with Sensei went very well. He was very business-like and straight-to-the-point, which Sam liked.

They had agreed that Sam would pay $200 a month, which covered her room and board as well as food. She also agreed to make dinner two nights a week.

After discussing things with Sensei, she was really starting to entertain the idea of living there with Kai and his friends. It would truly be something no one had experienced before. Needless to say, she was very excited.

When she emerged from the hall, Kai immediately ran up to her. "How was it? What'd he say?" the red ninja asked.

Sam laughed at his "It was good, Everything's cool now."

Kai breathed a sigh of relief. "Good," he said. "I'm glad it all worked out."

Sam gave him a soft smile. "Me too."

* * *

By 11 o'clock Friday morning, Sam was done with her last final exam, but her day was far from over.

Since the university required all dorm rooms to be emptied at the end of the year so that they could be cleaned, she needed to rent a moving truck to move most of her dorm room stuff to the Bounty.

Sam's roommate Brooke, whose family had come in their minivan to pick her up, had already loaded up all her stuff by the time Sam finished her exam.

When the last of Brooke's stuff had been loaded into her car, she hugged Sam goodbye and wished her a good summer, and Sam did the same.

"Have fun with Kai this summer! Like I said, he sounded hot on the phone," Brooke teased as she left the room.

Sam rolled her eyes, but she didn't deny it.

While she was packing, Sam reflected on the phone call she made to her parents last night, telling them where she would be staying this summer. She had simply told them that she was staying at the home of a friend of Cyrus Borg, and the friend also had his niece and nephews living with him. Since Lloyd was indeed Sensei Wu's nephew, and since Kai had said they knew Cyrus Borg, Sam rationalized that she wasn't stretching the truth...that much.

She was reluctant to tell people, such as her roommate, where she actually was staying at, since she felt like she should protect the ninjas' privacy.

At one o'clock, Kai arrived at Sam's dorm after driving over in the truck he had rented for Sam to carry her stuff in. This afternoon, he actually had permission from Sensei to miss practice because he was going to help Sam pack and move her things. He wore his red T-shirt, red and black shorts, and sunglasses, wanting to blend in with the college students.

Without much difficulty, he found the dorm building and entered through the main door. Sam's room was on the second floor, so he had to climb a set of stairs.

When he reached the second floor, he walked down the hall, searching for her room. Along the way, he passed by two girls, who were eyeing him with interest.

Usually, he would have said something like "Hello, ladies" and winked at them in order to impress them, but oddly enough, he didn't feel like doing that this time.

Finally, he found room 205, which was Sam's room. The door was halfway open. From inside, he could see Sam packing things into one of the many cardboard boxes scattered about the room.

"Busy packing, I see," Kai observed as he entered the room.

Hearing his voice Sam turned from what she was doing for a moment and smiled at him.

"Hey, Kai," she said. "You found me."

"You say that like you're surprised," Kai teased. "So how were your exams?"

"They were okay," Sam admitted."I'm just glad to be done with them now. I have to be out of here by three."

"So what do you still need to be packed?" he asked, looking around the small space. One side of the room, obviously Brooke's side, was empty except for a bed, a desk, and a dresser. Sam's side was still full of stuff.

"Let's get packing then, shall we?"

For the next hour or so, they worked on packing. Kai was able to dismantle her dresser...after Sam had taken her clothes out. When he had first tried to dismantle if, he found that it still had clothes in it, including her underwear and bras. He had turned about as red as his ninja suit when he made that discovery.

As he took down the bulletin board, he noticed several pictures-one was of her and a younger boy with brown hair.

"That's my little brother, Todd," she explained.

He then noticed one with her and another girl with long caramel brown hair.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"That's my roommate, Brooke," she said. "She left like an hour ago to go back home to her village."

Kai studied the picture, then a grin spread across his face.

"Hey, you should introduce her to Cole sometime. Then maybe he can go on his own dates and stop bugging me about mine!"

Sam laughed. "That's a great idea," she said. "Brooke bugs me about our dates, too."

Kai raised an eyebrow. "She does?"

Sam gave him a sheepish smile. "Yeah, she wants to know everything about you. Of course, I left out the part about you being a ninja," she said. "Which kind of leaves out a lot."

Kai chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that would leave a lot out, wouldn't it?" Like the fact that he lived on a giant ship with four other ninja and his teacher, as well as his sister, who's a samurai.

The bulletin board had many layers of papers pinned to it, which made it a bit heavy, so Kai accidentally lost his grip and dropped it, causing one of the photos to fall off and slide under her bed.

The red ninja picked it up and studied it for a moment. In the photo was Sam, dressed in a beautiful green gown, standing next to a tall handsome blond young man wearing a black tuxedo with a green bow tie and cummerbund.

Not knowing what else to say, he handed it to her and asked, "Um, where should this go?"

She glanced at the photo Kai was holding and her eyes widened, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "In the garbage. I was gonna throw it out anyways." She quickly took it and put it aside, planning to dispose of it later.

Kai didn't think any more about the photo because he looked at clock and saw that it was 2:30, meaning they had to hurry if they wanted to get Sam out of her dorm by 3.

Quickly, they made several trips between the room and the truck that Kai had rented for her, hauling boxes. With ten minutes to spare, she turned in her dorm room key. They hopped in the truck-him in the driver's seat, her on the passenger side-and they headed to the Bounty.


	30. Chapter 30

"Sam's here!" Kai called as he stumbled through the front door, carrying some of Sam's stuff.

The other ninja had been training outside on the deck when they had noticed the moving truck that Kai had rented pull up to the Bounty.

At the sound of the red ninja's voice, they all rushed into the house, glad to be done with training.

Sensei had instructed them to help Kai and Sam carry her stuff and move it to Nya's room. There was a spare bedroom on the Bounty, but Sensei thought it would be best if Sam shared a room with Nya, in case Misako or one of the ninjas' parents came to visit and needed a room to stay in. He also wanted to avoid "distractions" as much as possible.

Nya didn't mind, though. She was happy to have another girl around. Being a samurai, she didn't spend a whole lot of time around girls her age, and thought it'd be a good opportunity to get to know Sam.

Cole was the first to take a box and move it to Nya's room. As the earth ninja, he had the greatest stamina when it came to heavy lifting.

Lloyd took the box Sam was holding. His green eyes met hers for a split second before he quickly looked away, and went to set the box down in Nya's room, before running back to the living room to fetch another box.

Jay, Kai, and Zane were outside, transporting the boxes from the truck to the living room.

Nya had been working on the computer in the control room when she had heard all the racket coming from the front of the ship. Assuming that Sam had arrived, Nya jumped up from her spot on the floor and raced out of the room to greet her new roommate.

Seeing that Sam had indeed arrived, the samurai ran towards the girl to give her a hug.

"I'm so glad you're staying with us, Sam!" she exclaimed.

"Me too," Sam said, brushing a strand of hair out of face. "Have to get these boxes put away first."

She picked up a box labelled "books". Some were textbooks from her classes while others were computer science books that she had purchased for her own reference. Unfortunately, they were very heavy.

Kai had come in by this time after taking the last box out of the moving truck and setting it in the living room. He noticed Sam struggling and quickly held up the other side of the box before it came tumbling out of her hands.

"Need help?" he offered.

Together, the couple lifted the box and carried it to Nya's room.

Finally, when all the boxes had been put away in the samurai's room, Cole wiped the imaginary dust off his hands, feeling accomplished. "Who thinks we should give Sam a tour of the place?" he said as he turned to his friends.

Jay jumped up and down excitedly. "Oh, oh, oh, let me do it. I'm great at giving tours!" he said. "If you all would follow me." The blue ninja gracefully motioned the rest of them to follow his lead, as if he were an official tour guide at a museum.

The other ninja simply rolled their eyes at their teammate's theatrics.

Jay led them down the hall into the control room.

"This," he said, "is where all the magic happens. Here is where we steer the ship," he said, motioning towards the wheel. "And this," he said, pointing at the telephone, "is the device we use to call people. I'm sure Kai is very familiar with this piece of technology."

The rest of the group chuckled as Kai glared at his teammate.

Jay then showed them each of the bedrooms and bathrooms. "This is where we sleep," he said, pointing at the disaster known as the ninja's room. "Sensei wanted it clean before you got here, but, oh well, things happen," he said, earning a chuckle from the girls. "Besides, it's not like you're gonna be spending much time in here anyways."

Kai suddenly felt Cole's eyes penetrating the back of his head, causing him to blush, which, fortunately, went unnoticed by everyone else.

Jay also showed them the bathrooms, which were actually quite nice and spacious, considering they were on a ship.

After the blue ninja ended his colorful tour of the Bounty, Zane went to make dinner while the rest of the ninja and the girls hung out in the living room.

"So, Sam, you're internship starts on Monday, right?" Nya asked, considering the start of June started next week.

Sam nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It'll be busy, but I'm excited."

As soon as the words left her mouth, it dawned on Kai that he only had two full days with her before she became completely absorbed in her internship at Borg Industries. He needed to do something with her before she was too overwhelmed by her work. Maybe he'd take her out on a picnic tomorrow. That would be nice. Just the two of them. He'd ask her about it later.

* * *

After dinner, Sam decided to retire to her room for the night to start unpacking her things. Nya had resumed her work in the control room, so Sam would be by herself for an hour or so.

The first box she opened was her box of mementos, which contained mostly pictures of people that were close to her or had been close with her. Right there, sitting on the top of the pile of photos and various items was the picture Kai had found of her and her ex-boyfriend at her senior prom. The photo she hadn't thrown away, even though she had told Kai she would.

Sure, Jake and her hadn't been seeing each other that long before she dumped him, but it still hurt, nonetheless. Turned out he had been a sleaze all along.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the memory before it upset her too much. She had a whole different life now. She was a very successful college student, who was about to start a paid internship at one of the biggest companies in Ninjago, and to top it all off, she was staying with Ninjago's greatest heroes. What more could she want?

Not to mention that one of the ninja seemed to be smitten with her. At this point, she didn't know how much he was willing to invest in a relationship with her, or even how much she was, for that matter. After all, they both were fairly occupied at the moment. Yet, she couldn't deny the fact that she was becoming rather fond of the said red ninja.

Still, she was in the process of healing, and nothing could rush it, except for the passage of time. Only, she wished time would move faster.

Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"Sam? Are you in there?" a male voice asked. Speaking of the red ninja.

Sam quickly closed the box, not wanting to risk Kai seeing the photo again, and hurried to the door.

When she opened the door, Kai was standing there, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Hey, Sam," he said. "I was wondering if you wanted to go the park tomorrow. I know you're thinking about your internship and all, but I thought, you know, we could hang out, maybe."

Sam smiled, entertaining the idea of spending an afternoon with the red ninja.

"Sure," she said, "I'd like that."

Kai ran a hand through his hair, obviously relieved that she said yes.

"Cool. So I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Sam nodded. "See you tomorrow."

The red ninja gave her a small smile before he reluctantly turned around to retire to his own room.

He had to remind himself that this wasn't going to be the only date he'd have with her if she was still interested in going out with him, but he wanted to make it special and memorable. Nothing fancy, just a picnic where they could talk and spend time with one another. He grinned at the thought.

It was going to be a great summer.


	31. Chapter 31

"Good morning, Sleepyhead," Cole said teasingly as Kai walked into the kitchen, running a hand through his damp hair.

The red ninja glared at brother. "Hey, Cole," he answered in the same mocking tone his brother had greeted him. Apparently, he had slept in later than usual, since everyone else was already dressed and at the table. Everyone except Sam. "Is Sam up yet?" he asked.

Nya shook her head. "No, she was knocked out cold when I went to bed last night. She's probably exhausted from yesterday."

"And what's your excuse, Kai?" Lloyd asked, taking a bite of his pancakes.

Kai shot a glare in the green ninja's direction. "Let me remind you I was the one who helped her pack and rented the moving truck, and carried her stuff."

"Technically we all did that," Jay said. "Carrying the boxes."

"Yes, Jay, I was there." Kai sighed.

"Would you like some pancakes, Kai?" Zane offered. "I thought I'd make something special to honor our guest."

"Ah, that's very nice of you, Zane," Kai said as his brother handed him a plate. "I'd love some, actually."

* * *

Sam woke up to the smell of pancakes wafting throughout the Bounty.

She glanced at her alarm clock and saw that it was close to eight o' clock. She looked towards Nya's side of the room and saw that the samurai had already gotten out of bed, seeing that the sheets were messed up and that the girl was nowhere in sight.

_Everyone must be at breakfast,_ she thought.

Not wanting to appear in her nightclothes, Sam quickly showered and threw a t-shirt and some sweatpants on before she headed to the kitchen.

As she had expected, everyone was sitting down at the table, including Sensei Wu.

"There she is," Cole announced as Sam walked into the room.

The college student blushed as everyone greeted her. She hadn't planned to sleep in so late, but she had been very tired after her long day.

"Would you like some pancakes, Sam?" Zane asked.

"Sure," Sam said as Zane handed her a plate. Kai and Nya made room for her to sit in between them.

When she was seated, Sam took a bite of her pancakes and her eyes widened in surprise.

"These are really good," she said, savoring the taste of them.

"I am glad you like them," Zane said. "I thought it'd be nice to have something special to start your first day here."

"Wow, thank you, Zane," she said, realizing that it was the nindroid who had cooked the meal. It definitely beat the dining hall's food, that's for sure. And the pancakes had been made for her, too. Needless to say, she was grateful.

When they had finished breakfast, Lloyd went to the living room to play video games, while Jay and Nya went to the control room to finish upgrading the computer. Cole went to the training room to lift some weights, and Zane went to meditate on the deck, leaving Kai and Sam alone at the table.

"So, Sam," Kai said, "you still up for the park today?"

Sam smiled. "Of course," she said. "It doesn't matter we go, I just like spending time with you."

"Same here," Kai said, gazing into her blue eyes. "I was thinking that we'd eat lunch there, you know, have a picnic or something."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sam agreed. "When do you wanna leave?"

Kai glanced at the clock. "Noonish, maybe?"

Sam nodded. "Sure," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Around 11:30, Kai and Sam started packing for their picnic at the park.

Before then, Sam had went to her room to prepare herself for her date. Changing out of the sweat clothes she had thrown on this morning, she put on a pair of jean shorts and a lavender blouse. She also put some mascara on her eyelashes.

Little did she know that Kai had done some preparing for their date as well. He had spent several minutes in the mirror perfecting his spiky hair and he had also put on some cologne as well.

Currently, the two of them were in the kitchen, gathering the items they would take to the park and putting them in a picnic basket. They had decided to take sandwiches, as well as a couple sodas and a few bags of chips, along with a blanket to sit on.

When Sam wasn't looking, Kai slipped a flower into the basket as well. It was a wild daisy that he had found outside when Sam had been getting ready. He had wanted to do something cute for her without being too over-the-top or cheesy. Nya had given him the suggestion.

Soon enough, the couple had finished packing and were ready to go.

"We're leaving!" Kai called to whoever could hear him. No one answered, but it didn't really matter anyways, since Nya knew where they'd be.

Sam reached for the basket, but Kai immediately stopped her.

"I'll carry the basket," he insisted. He wanted to make sure that she didn't find the flower early. He wanted to keep it a surprise.

It was certainly starting to feel like summer as the couple walked through the park. It was warm, but it wasn't unbearably hot, thankfully. A gentle breeze tickled their noses as they searched for a place to lay out the blanket.

At last, they found a cool, shady spot under a tree.

Kai reached into the basket and pulled out two wrapped sandwiches and handed one to Sam, who gave him a grateful smile in return.

Not too long after they started eating, the red ninja spoke.

"It's a beautiful day," he said, admiring the scenery of the park. The whole world had seemed to come alive-children were playing on the playground, people were walking their dogs, families were riding their bikes together-everyone was enjoying the weather.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it is," she said.

The two sat in silence before Kai spoke again.

"So how long will you be working?" he asked.

"Until about 4 everyday," Sam replied, taking another bite of her sandwich. "So I will be home in time to make dinner like I told Sensei I would. Though to be honest, I'm not very experienced when it comes to cooking."

Kai chuckled. "Hey, it can't be worse than Cole's," he said. "He deserves the award for the least edible food, especially his chili."

Sam laughed. "It can't be that bad," she said.

Kai flashed her a look that meant he was serious. "Oh, it is."

"Well, what do you like to eat, then?"

Kai froze, a bit caught off guard by her question. "What I like to eat?" he repeated.

"Yeah, since I'm gonna be making dinner, I wanna make something that I know you and the others will like," she said.

"Well, since you asked," Kai said, smirking, "I like steak, sushi, shrimp-I do like me some good pork chops, though."

"Oh, so you're a meat kind of guy," she said, chuckling slightly.

Kai sensed she was teasing him and gave her a playful nudge.

"Hey, a growing man such as myself needs his meat, he said. "If I wanna be strong enough to fight off all those snakes and skeletons."

He pretended to show off his biceps, causing her to laugh even more. Though she had to admit, they were quite impressive.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," she said.

A comfortable silence washed over them before Sam spoke again.

"Hey, can you hand me a soda?" she asked.

However, instead of simply handing her a can like she had asked, Kai pushed the picnic basket towards her.

"Help yourself," he said.

Without giving it much thought, Sam reached inside the basket, and her eyes widened when she saw a flower sitting at the bottom corner of the basket.

"Kai!" she said, pulling the daisy out. "Did you put this in here?!"

Kai gave her a sheepish grin. "Maybe..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "It was Nya's idea."

"Aw, that's very sweet of you," she said, flashing him a grateful smile.

The red ninja blushed. "Well, I wanted to do something special for you, since I know you've been stressed out and everything," he said. "Also, a part of me feels like this is the last time I'll get to see you before you start your internship."

Before they had dropped her stuff off on the Bounty, he hadn't considered the fact that Sam would be gone a large part of the day on weekdays. He worried that she'd be so caught up in her internship that she wouldn't be able to spend time with him, as selfish as that sounded in his head. Of course, he was happy for her, but the prospect of her being gone most of the day was beginning to eat at him.

"Oh, Kai," she said, "I'll always make time for you. I love spending time with you."

"Really?"

San nodded. "Really," she said. "I like talking with you."

"Same here," Kai admitted. He paused. "I was thinking of all the things we could do this summer-there's lots of things to do in Ninjago City."

Sam nodded in agreement. "We could go see a movie, or go to a concert..."

"...maybe I'll take you to that fancy restaurant near the Niniago Museum of Natural History," Kai finished her sentence. "But I won't invite the others to that."

Sam laughed. "It all sounds good to me."

The couple suddenly became aware of the lack of space between them. Sam glanced at Kai and noticed his brown eyes were staring intently back at her. She felt a blush creep across her cheeks as the space between them became smaller and smaller. Her eyes fluttered closed, the blood pounding in her ears as Kai leaned in to kiss her.

Suddenly, before their lips touched, however, the couple heard a rustling noise behind them.

"What was that?" Sam asked, quickly looking around.

Kai scanned the area with suspicion. Being a ninja, he was more alert and was able to hear what she couldn't. He heard the faint sound of voices nearby, and that's when he saw shades of white, black and blue blur past them.

"I know _exactly_ what it is."


	32. Chapter 32

Are you sure we should be doing this, Cole?" Jay asked as the three ninja crouched behind the bushes. "I mean, isn't this like an invasion of privacy?"

"I have to agree with Jay," Zane said. "Kai would not be very happy with us if he found out we were stalking him, especially when he believes he is alone with his girlfriend."

Cole waved his hand, dismissing his brothers' worries.

"Relax guys, we're not stalking them. We're just looking out for Kai, that's all," the earth ninja said. "And technically she's not his official girlfriend yet."

"And what makes it official?" Zane asked, confused.

"They practically just met, Zane," Cole answered. "There's no way for them to know if they really like each other until they've gone out a few times."

"Says you, Cole," Jay said. "Nya and I knew we were meant to be together from day one."

Cole sneered."Yeah, that's why she fell for me, isn't it?"

As soon as the words left the earth ninja's mouth, Jay grabbed the collar of his teammate's shirt.

"You take that back, or else."

"Or else, what? You'll talk me to death?" Cole retorted.

"Brothers, please do not fight. We are here for Kai, remember?" Zane said, studying the couple under the tree. "And it looks like they are about to kiss."

"What? No way!" Cole said, shoving Jay aside to get a better view of the action.

"Let me see! Let me see!" Jay exclaimed, trying to peer over Cole.

Unfortunately, the blue ninja leaned over too far and lost his balance, causing him to fall over, knocking his teammates down with him, with the three of them landing into a heap on the ground.

"Oh, great, now he'll know we're here," Cole grunted under the weight of his brother. "Nice going, Jay."

"Hey, you're the one who wouldn't let me have a look," Jay argued.

Slowly, they got up and peered through the bush to see Kai staring directly at them.

"He spotted us!" Cole exclaimed. "We need to move, like, now!"

Quickly but stealthily, the three ninja moved to another bush closer to the tree Kai and Sam were under. They peeked through the shrubbery to find that the couple was no longer there.

"Where'd they go?" Jay asked.

He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Right here."

Dreading what he'd see when he turned his head, Jay slowly looked behind him to see Kai, standing with his arms crossed, along with Sam, who was staring at the three ninja in disbelief.

"Hehe, hey Kai," Jay chuckled nervously.

"Were you guys spying on us?" Kai demanded, already knowing the answer.

"It was Cole's idea!" Jay exclaimed, pointing a finger at his brother.

The earth ninja glared at him before facing his teammate's angry expression.

"We were just looking out for you, buddy," Cole said.

"Mhm, sure," Kai said sarcastically. "If you hadn't noticed, Cole, I can handle myself, thank you."

"I-I can see that," Cole said, glancing at Kai's palm nervously. He swore he saw a spark flicker in the red ninja's hand. "Well, we better be on our way, then, huh boys?" the earth ninja said, quickly helping his brothers to their feet.

The other ninja nodded. "Yeah, uh, I just remembered, I need to...do my laundry," Jay said. "Well, it was nice seeing you, Kai. Sam." He nodded at the two of them before running off to who knows where.

"I must be going too," Zane said, "I believe I have to be somewhere."

"And I should be there, too," Cole said as he and Zane darted off.

When they were out of sight, Kai shook his head.

"You'll have to excuse my brothers," he said to Sam. "They're not used to me leaving the house without them, except when I'm grocery shopping."

Sam laughed. "It's okay, my brother's the same way," she said.

There was a short silence before Kai cleared his throat. "Anyways, shall we pack up and head home?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "I guess," she said. She was disappointed that her date had ended so soon, but she was glad that she had spent some time with Kai alone, at least for a little while.

Kai sensed her disappointment and took her hands in his. "Hey, I had fun," he said, gazing into her blue eyes once more. They always seemed to sparkle with the same vivacity each time he looked at them. He was searching, searching for a sign in them that would tell him that she felt the same way he was feeling now.

"Me too," she said, his brown eyes staring at back at her with the same twinkle they had had when he was about to kiss her.

"Think we can do it again sometime?" he asked, gently pulling her closer to him.

A hot blush crept across her cheeks. "Yeah, yeah we can."

* * *

When the couple returned to the Bounty, Zane, Cole and Jay were already there, lounging on the floor of the living room.

Lloyd had taken up the couch. He was sprawled out, reading more of his comic books.

The other three ninja practically jumped when they saw Kai enter the room,

"Back so soon?" Cole asked. He tried to appear cool on the outside, but on the inside he was freaking out, afraid of what Kai might do to him after he caught him spying on him and his date at the park.

Kai started to pace the room slowly, which put the earth ninja even more on edge.

"Yeah, there were a couple things I needed to do around here."

Cole raised a brow. "Like what?"

"I don't know...this and that."

"I don't like where this is going," Jay whispered to Zane.

"You wouldn't beat me up in front of your girlfriend, would you?" Cole said, glancing at Sam, who wore a curious look on her face.

"No, but I've realized that you depend on me too much for your vicarious thrills," Kai said, still pacing around the room.

"Yeah, so?" Cole said. He agreed with Jay; he didn't like where this was going.

"So Sam and I were talking..."

"Oh, great, he really _is_ going to hurt us," Jay muttered nervously, cowering under the red ninja's gaze.

"...and we decided that you may need other means of entertainment," Kai said, smirking at his girlfriend.

"What are you gonna do?" the earth ninja asked. Kai ignored him completely.

"Which is why we thought you deserved..." Kai raised his hand, as though he were about to punch Cole. The earth ninja shut his eyes, bracing for impact. "...this."

Cole continued to keep his eyes closed, expecting Kai's fist to make contact with his face any second. However, the blow never came.

The earth ninja hesitantly opened his eyes and saw Kai was holding a piece of paper in front of his face

"What's this?" he asked, taking the piece of paper from Kai. He studied it carefully. "A phone number?"

"Not just any phone number," Kai said. "Sam's roommate's phone number."

Cole frowned. "Why would I need this?" he asked.

"So you can have your own dates now instead of interfering with mine," Kai said, narrowing his eyes at the earth ninja.

Cole stared at the paper in disbelief. "But I don't even know her."

"Sam's even got a picture of her for ya," Kai said, still ignoring him.

Sam nodded. "I'll go get it," she said.

Seconds later, she returned with a photo in her hands. She handed it to Cole, whose eyes practically bulged out of their sockets once he saw who Kai and Sam were referring to.

It was the same picture that Kai had seen in Sam's dorm room. Long brown hair cascaded down the girl's shoulders to the mid of her back. She had a willowy figure and was noticeably taller than Sam. Large, white sunglasses covered her eyes, which made her all the more mysterious and intriguing. It was only a picture, yet, Cole was practically drooling at the sight of her.

"Wow," was all he could say.

"Need I say more?" Kai teased. Of course she was attractive, but she didn't have the same sparkle that Sam did. To him, Sam would always be the cutest girl in the room.

"And the best part is, she's single," Sam said. "I think you'd really like her."

"Wow, thanks guys," Cole said, admiring the photo a couple seconds longer before handing it back to Sam. "I think I'm gonna call her now."

Cole hopped up from his spot on the floor and made a beeline for the control room where the phone was at.

Everyone laughed as they watched him stumble to the control room, except for Lloyd, who was concentrating on his comic book.

Kai had been right-Cole needed to get out. He hadn't been on a date since he had run away from home a few years ago. And hanging out with four other boys all the time could get pretty old. It was time to broaden his horizons a bit. Plus, it would get him off him and Sam's back, at least for a little while.

"We did good," Kai said, giving her a fist-bump.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. She paused. "Although, maybe I should have given her a heads up first."

Sam didn't know how well her roommate would take to having a random stranger calling her.

Kai shook his head, dismissing the thought. "Nah. Cole's got everything under control...I think."

**Hey guys! I just wanted to thank all of you who have been reading my story and commenting. Your support gives me the motivation to continue writing, so thank you so much! A/N: When I was writing this chapter, I felt some of you might be rubbed the wrong way about Cole's attitude towards Sam's roommate. I was worried that you guys might think I was depicting him as a player, but I just wanted to say that wasn't my intent at all. I just wanted to show how eager he was to start seeing a girl, since he hasn't really had a chance to in the series. Of course Cole respects people not because of how they look! In fact, he'll find out in later that he likes Brooke for more than just her looks. But that will be in a later chapter, so stay tuned! And continue to rate and review! :D**


	33. Chapter 33

The next morning, Sam woke up to the sound of dishes clanking.

She glanced at her alarm clock and saw that it was 6:30. Nya was still asleep.

Outside her door, she could hear voices coming from the kitchen. The ninja must've been eating breakfast already. She wondered why the ninja were up so early.

Like yesterday, Sam showered and threw on some appropriate clothing before heading to the kitchen to see what was cooking.

"Hey, Sam," a chorus of voices greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. Everyone was munching on cereal, except for Sensei, who was drinking tea.

"Hello, Sam, I trust that you slept well," the martial arts teacher said, taking a sip of tea.

Sam nodded. "Yes, Sensei, thank you," she answered as she sat down, taking a seat next to Kai.

"Help yourself to some cereal," Cole said, pushing a box of Frosted Oats towards her. Jay also passed her the jug of milk.

The group ate in silence before Zane spoke.

"So, Sensei," the white ninja began, "what sort of training exercises will we be practicing today?"

Sensei stroked his beard. "I believe we should practice using weapons today."

"Aw," Jay whined. "Do we have to? I mean, we do have our powers."

Sensei took another sip of tea. "I feel you all have been relying too heavily on your elemental powers lately," their teacher explained. "If by some chance your powers go missing, you will not know how to fight without them."

Unlike Jay, Cole was more open to the idea. "Ah, nothing like some good old-fashioned combat," he said, bringing his fist to his palm.

Sam turned to Kai. Now she knew why they had been up so early. "So you guys train on Sundays?" she asked.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, Saturday's our day off, most of the time," he said. "Sometimes if we work really hard during the week, Sensei'll give us Sunday off too, but that doesn't happen very often."

The martial arts teacher chuckled. "Focus is a precious thing," he said. "Some of us need to learn how to better harness it."

Kai gave his teacher a sheepish grin, causing Sam and the others to laugh.

Suddenly, the red ninja's face lit up with an idea.

"Hey Sam," he said. "Wanna watch us train for a while...if that's okay with you, Sensei." He thought maybe he should ask for his teacher's permission first.

Sensei thought for a moment.

"I don't see why not," he answered. "You are welcome to join us, Sam."

A part of him hoped that by allowing her to watch them, his students would be more inclined to work harder. Anything to keep them motivated.

* * *

"Remember, you will only use your weapons and your Spinjitzu," Sensei Wu told his students as they prepared for battle on the deck of the ship.

Currently it was Jay and Lloyd who were battling. Jay had his nunchucks in hand while Lloyd was wielding a sword.

"Ready, ninja?"

The two ninjas nodded. "Yes, Sensei."

"On your mark, get set...fight!" The martial arts teacher announced.

Without hesitation, the two ninjas charged at each other. Jay swung his nunchucks above his head while Lloyd raised his sword.

Kai, Zane, Cole and Sam watched the battle unfold between the blue ninja and the green ninja.

Sam's eyes were wide as they darted back and forth between the two ninja. She was amazed at how quick they were able to dodge one another's attacks. She couldn't believe that she was watching an actual training session with the greatest heroes in Ninjago.

However, the other ninja, being used to swift fighting, were less impressed with the battle. Instead, they made bets about who was going to win the duel to pass the time.

"I think Lloyd's gonna win," Cole said. "A tree would stand a much better chance than he does," the earth ninja said, pointing at Jay.

Zane, however, was skeptical. "Indeed Jay may be distracted easily, but he is certainly not weak," the white ninja said. "If he manages to attack Lloyd at the right time, he may be able to win."

At that point, Jay was using his nunchucks to block Lloyd's attacks.

"Ha, is that all you got?" Jay said, taunting the green ninja.

Lloyd tried to knock the nunchucks out of Jay's hands, but to no avail.

The younger ninja smirked. "You underestimate me, Jay," he said. The blue ninja was so focused on protecting the top half of himself that his legs and feet were vulnerable.

Pretending to aim for his shoulder, Lloyd raised his sword, only to use to his foot to trip the other ninja.

As he had planned, Jay lost his balance and toppled to the ground, landing on his behind. After processing what had just happened, Jay stared up at the green ninja looking dumbfounded.

"I believe I win," Lloyd said, pointing his sword at Jay.

Sensei nodded in approval. "Very good, Lloyd," the martial arts teacher said, who had been observing their battle. "You must not let your guard down, or your opponent will take advantage of you."

"See? I told you Lloyd would win," Cole said, nudging Zane.

Their teacher glanced at the other three ninja on the sidelines, who were smiling slightly at the blue ninja's expense.

"Now, who would like to go next?" Sensei asked.

Kai immediately stood up. "I'll do it, Sensei," he says eagerly. The red ninja was always ready to prove himself in battle.

Lloyd, being the winner of his practice battle with Jay, was able to sit out until Sensei had gone through everyone. As he passed by Kai, he handed the red ninja the sword and took a seat next to Sam.

Sam's eyes widened as the green ninja sat down, barely two feet away from her. She hadn't been this close to him since last Friday when he had accused her of letting Kai win the video game.

She tried not to stare as she snuck a couple glances at him. His blond bangs stuck to his forehead and he was breathing heavily, slightly fatigued from his battle with the blue ninja. His eyes remained focused on the duel between Jay and Kai, seemingly unaware that he was under her observation.

After looking at him again, with his light hair and boyish features, it dawned on her why she had seemed so familiar to him at first.

He reminded her of Jake.

A pang of remorse shot through her at the memory, but shoved it aside as best she could. Lloyd wasn't like Jake. He and the other ninja were the protectors of Ninjago-they were certainly more honorable.

"Jay is definitely gonna win," a male voice said.

Sam turned her head in the direction the voice had originated from and her eyes instantly locked with the eyes of the green ninja.

"Kai likes to show off a lot," he added. "Especially today."

Lloyd motioned to the battle going between Kai and Jay. When he sensed that Sam was watching, the red ninja glanced over at the sidelines and winked at her, waving his sword around proudly. She couldn't help but smile at his antics.

"See what I mean?" Lloyd said, chuckling slightly.

Sam finally found it in her to speak. "Do you guys always battle like this when you train?" she asked.

"Sometimes," the green ninja replied. "Other times we train individually in the training room."

An uncomfortable silence shortly followed, neither teen knowing what else to say. Sam pretended to watch the battle between the two ninja, but truthfully she was trying to figure out what she would say to Lloyd. Fortunately, he was the first one to speak again.

"Congratulations on your internship by the way," he said. "I really didn't get a chance to tell you earlier."

Sam smiled, honored by the green ninja's compliment. "Thanks," she answered. "I can't believe I start tomorrow." She cleared her throat nervously. "I appreciate you guys letting me stay here," she said. It seemed like the ship was already crowded, with seven people sharing such a small space.

Lloyd chuckled, as if he was reading her mind. "Hey, the more the merrier," he said.

At that moment, Jay had used his Spinjitzu as a last resort in order to beat Kai. The sound of him exclaiming "Ninjaaago!" followed by a flash of blue light caught Lloyd and Sam's attention.

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "That's what Kai did when we were playing tennis!" she exclaimed.

Lloyd couldn't help but laugh, finding amusement in her reaction.

"Yeah, Spinjitzu is pretty cool, isn't it?" he said. "The first time I did it, I was fighting pirates."

Sam stared at him in disbelief. "Pirates?!"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, we had some pirates terrorizing the city once. No big deal, though. We took care of it. Well, mostly Nya did."

Sam frowned, trying to process the information. "I thought pirates didn't exist anymore," she said.

"They don't. It was my...Lord Garmadon who brought them back," Lloyd said, sadly recalling his father.

The green ninja suddenly became subdued and a tad bit somber at the mention of Garmadon. Sam figured he was still grieving about the loss of his father and silently kicked herself for bringing up such a touchy subject. She couldn't imagine herself losing a parent like he had had.

Before she could dwell on Lloyd's feelings much longer, Jay proudly declared victory against Kai, who was lying on the deck of the Bounty, defeated.

"You got lucky this time, Jay," Kai said, standing up. "But next time, you need to watch your back." It was an empty threat, since the red ninja was smiling as he said it.

Training continued through the rest of the morning into the late afternoon. Sam decided to stay and watch for a while, but eventually went inside sometime after noon, since she had some things she needed to do before her internship tomorrow.

Her mind kept replaying the moments she had seen Kai and Jay use their Spinjitzu. There was something about the ancient martial arts practice that fascinated her.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. What if she could learn Spinjitzu? She assumed it was possible, since the rest of the ninja could do it, and from the way they had described it, it didn't sound like it was exclusive to just ninja. She thought it'd be a great surprise for Kai. Since she was living with them, she felt she should do at least something to reach out to them.

Problem was, she needed a teacher. Someone who could show her how to do it, since she doubted she could figure out all by herself. A tutor of some sort.

And what better teacher was there than the greatest ninja in all of Ninjago himself?


	34. Chapter 34

"Haha, ready to get your butt kicked again today, Kai?" Jay said as he took a bite of his eggs.

Nya had volunteered to make breakfast that morning, and had decided to make something simple. Nonetheless, the ninja still enjoyed their meal, especially when there was bacon on the side.

"Hey, the sword slipped out of my hand, so it really doesn't count," Kai retorted. "Besides, I was just warming up."

Jay playfully rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right," he scoffed. "And I'm pretty sure it counted to Sensei. It was especially funny getting your butt kicked in front of your girlfriend."

Kai glared at Jay, though the embarrassment showed on his face. "She's not my girlfriend."

The blue ninja almost spit out his eggs. "She's not?! Then what is she?" he practically shouted across the table.

"Shh, not so loud," Kai whispered, attempting to shush his teammate. The red ninja thought he'd just about die if Sam overheard their conversation.

"I'm taking it slow, Jay," Kai said, his voice returning to a normal volume. "I don't wanna rush things with her. Saying she's my girlfriend puts pressure on the relationship and I don't want that. I just like spending time with her."

The blue ninja rolled his eyes again and grabbed a slice of bacon from the table. "Whatever, Romeo," he said. Deep down he understood his brother's reasoning, but it was more fun to tease him about it.

Jay glanced up again, only to notice Sam enter the room. Instead of her sweats, she was dressed in her business attire. She was wearing a white button-up shirt tucked into a black pencil skirt, along with some black heels.

"Wha-ho! Looking sharp!" Jay exclaimed once he saw her. The other ninja turned their heads to see what Jay was looking at, including Kai, who's eyes widened in shock at the sight of her.

"Lookin' good, Sam," Cole whistled, turning back to his food.

Sam blushed slightly at the attention. "Thanks," she said, taking a seat next to Kai, who realized he had been staring at her. The only girl that he had ever seen dress up like that was the real estate agent they had met when they were looking for apartments, and she didn't look nearly as nice as Sam did.

After she sat down, the red ninja gave her a playful nudge. "Hey," he said. "You look nice." Sam felt her blush deepen at the compliment.

The other ninja snickered at Kai's comment, except for Lloyd, who was intensely focused on his food. He hadn't said a word since he had come to breakfast.

Unfortunately, Sam wasn't able to stay long since she had to leave for her internship soon. After she ate her eggs, she quickly stood up. "I should really get going," she said, looking at the clock. It was around seven-fifteen, and Sam had to report to Human Resources by eight. She had to leave enough time for her to walk to the bus station, then catch a bus to Borg Industries.

"Good luck," Kai said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Sam returned the smile. "Thanks."

"And watch out for nindroids or any evil beings trying to take over Ninjago," Jay added. "'Cause you know, we kinda had that problem last time."

Kai, Cole, and Zane chuckled at their teammate's joke, recalling the last time they had gone to Borg Industries and discovered that the Overlord was trying to take over Ninjago from inside the computer system.

Of course, Sam didn't fully understand the joke. "Okay, I will, she laughed. She turned to leave, but not before giving Lloyd one quick glance before she exited the kitchen, and headed out to go to her internship. She figured that she would ask him about teaching her Spinjitzu later.

* * *

Overall, Sam had a great day at Borg Industries. She had arrived ten minutes early, which had been a huge relief for her, since she had been worried about how long it would take her to get there, combined with her walk and her bus trip.

In addition, she had finally gotten the chance to speak with Cyrus Borg in person for the first time, which was great, considering she had been looking forward to meeting him ever since she had decided to work at Borg Industries for the summer. Mr. Borg was a very nice man, very personable and welcoming to her and the few other college interns that were planning to work there for the next few months. Sam had been told that she'd be working in the architectural part of the building, where'd she be helping design some of the machines.

Not surprisingly, at dinner, Jay interrogated her about her day at Borg Industries.

"Tell us about your internship, Sam! Was it super amazing and cool?!" he asked.

Sam nodded. "It was pretty cool. There's so much that goes on there," she said, remembering all the different departments that made up the corporation.

"Did the machines attack you while you there?" Nya asked, partly joking. She was not fond of the memory when the ninja had left the students in her and Sensei's care, only for PIXAL and the other machines in the factory to turn evil.

Sam shook her head. "No, they didn't," she said. "But I'll be sure to watch my back when I go there tomorrow."

The ninja simply stared at her, processing what she had said, before they burst out laughing. Sam had actually made a joke, her first of many on the Bounty.

"Haha, good one," Jay said, clutching his stomach, trying to stifle bouts of laughter,

"Yeah, that was good," Cole said, wiping a tear from his eye. Even Sensei got a chuckle out of it. And Lloyd, who had managed to crack a smile.

"Anyways…" Jay said, recovering from his laughter. "What are you gonna be doing there?"

"I'm going to be designing some of the machines," Sam answered. "I won't be doing any of the actual building, just creating the blueprints."

The blue ninja's eyes widened in amazement. Of course, he'd probably prefer actually building the machines, but even so, he'd jump at the chance to work for Cyrus Borg if he could. "Wow, you're so lucky," he said. "You get to help out at one of the coolest places on earth while I'm stuck here, training with these nitwits."

"Hey, I'll remember that the next time I catch you spying on me," Kai said, narrowing his eyes at his teammate.

"I told you, it was Cole's idea!" he said, pointing a finger at the earth ninja once more, who simply rolled his eyes at the accusation.

"Whatever," Cole said. Suddenly, his face lit up. "Hey, I called Brooke on Saturday," he announced.

"Oh, yeah!" Sam exclaimed, remembering the conversation they had had about her roommate. "How was it? What'd she say?"

"It was good," he said. "At first I thought she was gonna think I was a total creeper, since she didn't know me at all-heck, I didn't even know her name when I called her, but when I told her I was friends with Kai, we hit it off," the earth ninja explained. "It's too bad she lives so far away, though." A look of disappointment flickered across his face as he glanced down at his food.

It was true that Brooke did live a few hours away. It wasn't impossibly far, but it was far enough that it'd be difficult to see her.

Sam knew Cole was disappointed and tried to cheer him up."Maybe I can ask her to come down sometime. I know she'll be in town before school starts," she said. "Maybe you can meet her then."

"Then we could go on a double date," Jay said, glancing at Nya.

"Triple date," Cole corrected, motioning towards Sam and Kai.

Everyone laughed, except for Sensei, who sighed and shook his head. It was becoming impossible for the ninja to avoid distractions nowadays.

After the laughter had down, Lloyd stood up from his seat.

"May I be excused, Sensei?" he asked.

The martial arts teacher, who was still partially caught up in all the date talk, nodded. He thought it was odd that Lloyd wanted to excuse himself from the table so quick after they had sat down to eat, but figured that his nephew needed his time alone. He still hadn't gotten over the loss of his father completely.

"Yes, Lloyd, you are excused," Sensei said.

The ninja and the girls watched as the green ninja left the room, slightly puzzled by their teammate's behavior.

"He hasn't been the same since he lost his father," Cole remarked.

Sensei nodded in agreement. "That may be true," he said. "But time heals all wounds. Maybe Lloyd just needs more time than we thought."


	35. Chapter 35

Lloyd sat on the bench in the training room, his face resting on his hand as he lost himself in his thoughts. He didn't know why he had had the sudden urge to be alone. He just needed to get away from the others.

He couldn't believe how much life had changed for him. While the others had seemed to revert back to their carefree antics, he was still mourning the loss of his father. His father had sacrificed so much for him, for Ninjago, and yet, it was easily overlooked by everyone else. Not to say that they didn't care at all, but sometimes it felt like he was the only one still suffering.

His father had been his teacher, his mentor, his friend, ever since the evil had been knocked out of him after he had defeated the Overlord, well, the first time. Ever since then, his father had been there with him.

Being the green ninja, he had a lot of responsibility, more than he wanted to bear at times. The fate of Ninjago rested on his shoulders, and that was a tough shoe to fill. But he had felt like he could do it as long as his father was by his side. Deep down, he knew if it wasn't for his father, he wouldn't have made it as far as he did. And now he was gone.

He became so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Sam walk into the room.

She saw him sitting there, acting extremely subdued. She wasn't sure if she should approach him or not, since he seemed like he was mildly upset about something. Maybe I should ask him another time, she thought to herself. But she didn't know when she'd get the chance to ask him again.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked over to him.

"Hey, Lloyd," she said, trying to get his attention.

The green ninja's head snapped up, only to be greeted by the last person he'd expect to find him.

"Uh, hey Sam," he said, a bit caught off guard by her presence.

She smiled, feeling slightly self-conscious. "Hey," she answered. "I wanted to ask you something."

The green ninja's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. Um, what would that be?" he asked. He couldn't guess what she wanted to talk to him about.

"I was wondering," she said, nervously glancing at the floor, "if you could teach me Spinjitzu."

Lloyd's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. He hadn't been expecting that.

"You want me to teach you Spinjitzu?" he repeated.

Sam nodded, fidgeting with her hands nervously. "Yeah, I wanted to surprise Kai."

Hearing the red ninja's name made Lloyd feel a twinge of jealousy towards his brother, but didn't show it.

"You want to surprise him, huh?" The green ninja thought for a moment, considering Sam's request.

He wasn't sure how dedicated she was to actually learning the ancient martial art, but if she was serious about learning Spinjitzu, she'd have to fully commit to it. She'd have to train whenever possible, such as in the early mornings or when she came home from work or in the evenings after dinner.

It also required sacrifice from his end as well. If he wanted to teach her, he'd have to give up some his free time in order to train her. He'd have to be responsible, making sure that she didn't injure herself too badly. Since she wasn't a ninja, she'd have a harder time, therefore, he'd have to be extra careful.

But most importantly, they'd have to keep it a secret. From Kai and the rest of the ninja. Because if one of the ninja found out, they'd be keen on telling Kai, and it would ruin the surprise.

The real question: was he willing to take on that responsibility?

He glanced up at her. Her blue eyes were watching him intently, hopeful and pleading. If she was serious about doing this, then maybe he'd help her out.

"Sure, I'll teach you Spinjitzu," he said.

"Really?"

Lloyd nodded.

An enthused grin spread across the girl's face. "You'd really do that for me?"

The green ninja smiled. "Sure. But you know it is going to take a lot of work. Spinjitzu isn't something you learn overnight."

Sam nodded in understanding, but the grin on her face still hadn't disappeared. "Thanks, Lloyd," she said. "It means a lot to me."

Lloyd returned the smile. "Don't mention it," he said. "Let's just hope Kai doesn't find out before then."

* * *

"All the training equipment has been put away, Sensei," Kai said, wiping the imaginary dust off his hands.

As Kai had begged his teacher for Sam to stay at the Bounty, Sensei had held the red ninja to his promise that he would put away all the training equipment once the ninja were done for the day.

The martial arts teacher nodded in approval. "Very good," he said. "Now I think I will call it a night."

Sensei turned to go to his room, then glanced back at the red ninja. "I shall see you and the other ninja tomorrow."

However, before Sensei disappeared, Kai saw Lloyd and Sam emerge from the hall. At the sight of the green ninja, the martial arts teacher stopped him.

"There you are, Lloyd. I hope you are feeling better," Sensei said, aware that he and the other ninja hadn't seen him since dinner.

Lloyd bowed his head respectfully. "Yes, Sensei, I am."

"Glad to hear it."

Kai watched the exchange between his brother and his teacher. He wondered why Sam was with Lloyd, but didn't ponder it further.

When Sensei was out of sight, Kai greeted his friends cheerfully.

"Hey guys," he said. "What have you two been up to?"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Lloyd beat her to it. "Nothing," Lloyd said. "I was just training for a little while before I went to bed." It wasn't a total lie. He had at least talked about training.

The red ninja shrugged. "That's cool," he said. He then turned to their houseguest. "Hey, Sam, wanna hang out for a little while?" he asked. "We could watch a movie if you want."

Sam smiled. "A movie sounds good," she said.

Kai walked over to the cabinet under their TV and opened it, revealing an array of DVDs.

"As you can see, we have a lot of them," he chuckled. "Lloyd would know which ones are the best," the red ninja said, motioning towards his teammate. "He's seen every movie like three or four times."

Lloyd let out a half-hearted laugh. "Ha, yeah." His eyes then traveled from Sam to Kai, then back to Sam. "Well, I suppose I should get some shut eye. Good night, you two," the green ninja said as he turned to leave.

"Goodnight," Kai and Sam both echoed as the green ninja disappeared from view.

Once his brother was gone, Kai turned to Sam. "So, Sam, you up for something scary or something comical?"


	36. Chapter 36

**Hey readers! When writing chapter 35 I wasn't sure if I should put this in, but I think it helps tie in and set up what's going to happen in future chapters. So here's a nice little bonus chappie for y'all!**

As it turns out, Sam had opted for a funny movie. After her long day at her internship, she needed something that would help her unwind. Just like they did at the Lego Movie, both of them couldn't stop laughing.

However, while the movie was entertaining, it wasn't enough to keep the couple awake. Exhausted from the activity of the past couple of days, both of them fell asleep.

Sam woke up at about 1:30 in the morning to a dark living room. Realizing that she had fallen asleep, Sam looked next to her and saw that Kai had dozed off his well. His chest rose and fell in a rhythmic pattern, showing he was asleep. Even in the dark, she could see that his head was tilted back and his mouth was slightly open. She smiled.

She considered leaving to go to her own room, but decided against it, thinking that it'd be rude on her part if she left him by himself.

"Kai! Kai!" she whispered, shaking his shoulder slightly. The red ninja began to stir.

"Five more minutes, Sensei," he mumbled.

"I'm not Sensei," Sam said, continuing to shake him. "It's Sam."

Finally, the red ninja's eyes fluttered open. Recognizing his girlfriend, the red ninja smiled.

"Hey, Sam," he said groggily.

"Hey," she answered.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, then froze.

"I fell asleep, didn't I?" he asked.

Sam laughed. "I guess both did," she said.

The air around them suddenly became awkward, upon them realizing that they were alone. In the dark.

Sam was glad that it was difficult to see, because she could feel herself blushing madly. Little did she know that Kai felt the same.

"Uh, err, I suppose I should go to my room," the red ninja said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, me too," Sam agreed.

The couple promptly stood up and proceeded to go to their own rooms. Sam and Nya's room was the first one down the hall.

When they reached the girls' door, the red ninja stopped and put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. Sam could feel the warmth of his hand send tingles down her arm.

"Goodnight, Sam," Kai said. His soft brown eyes were fixed on her, shining with sincerity

"Goodnight, Kai," Sam answered, giving him a warm smile.

Before she could process what was happening, the red ninja boldly leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. He pulled away, trying to gauge her reaction.

Sam simply stood there, dumbfounded at what the red ninja had done. That was when she noticed he was watching with expectant eyes. She needed to say something.

"Wha-what was that for?" she asked, feeling the heat in her cheeks rise.

Kai paused. "For someone special," was all he said.

Her heart fluttered.

She didn't have a chance to respond because he abruptly turned away. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he retreated to his own room.

When Sam heard the door to his room shut, she touched her cheek, letting her fingers brush over the spot where he had kissed her.

_For someone special,_ the words echoed in her head.

**Whoa! Kai kissed Sam...on the cheek! Although, isn't Kai's behavior kind of odd? He tells her she's special, then ends it with turning away and "I'll see you tomorrow." Keep reading to find out why he's acting so strange. And now Lloyd kind of likes Sam. Ooh, drama! As always, don't forget to R &amp; R! :D**


	37. Chapter 37

**Here's another chapter for you guys! I probably won't post the next couple of days because I'll be busy getting ready for school and everything. Thank you to everyone who has been reading my story! Your support is much appreciated! However, I'd like to point out that Lloyd did not kiss Sam. I'm sorry if that was confusing. And to answer StoryMaker7's question, Lloyd is around the same age as the other ninja. I imagine he his in the 17-19 range, so not 20 yet, but fairly close. In this story, I believe I will make him 18, maybe closer to 19, since Sam is 19 and Kai is 20. Thanks for asking, and I'm glad my story is inspiring you guys to write stories of your own. It makes my day, lol. Anyways, thanks so much, and stay tuned! As always, don't forget to R &amp; R! :D**

* * *

The next day at breakfast was brutal for the red ninja and his girlfriend.

"Aw, you two looked so cute!" Jay teased.

Apparently he had seen the couple when he and Nya had decided to turn in after working on the computer in the control room yesterday evening. Kai and Sam had already fallen asleep by then.

"So did you guys just stay there the whole night?" Cole asked, taking another bite of his oatmeal.

Kai and Sam exchanged nervous glances. "No, eventually we woke up, then we went to bed," the red ninja explained, intentionally leaving the part out where he kissed her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jay flash him a look, in which the red ninja gave him a glare in return.

On the other side of the table, Lloyd silently poked at his oatmeal, listening to the conversation between the rest of the ninja and their houseguest. To be honest, he wasn't very hungry.

"I hear Sensei's going to make us train longer today," Cole said. "Apparently he's not happy with the progress we've made since we started training with weapons."

"Aw!" Jay whined. "Why do we even have to use weapons anyway? They're too clunky-I mean, who wants to lug those things around when you're about to get your head chopped off by a bunch of skeletons? If you ask me, it's a lot easier just to use our powers."

The black ninja shrugged, knowing that it wouldn't do any good to argue with their teacher.

As if on cue, Sensei walked into the kitchen, sipping his usual morning cup of tea.

"Good morning, Sensei," a chorus of voices echoed.

"Good morning, my pupils. I assume Cole has filled you in on my plans for today," Sensei said, motioning towards the earth ninja.

"Yes, Sensei," Zane said. "I understand that you would like us to practice using our weapons more."

The martial arts teacher nodded. "Yes, though, it would not be for very long. I would assume an extra hour or so would be plenty."

Sensei then turned to Sam. "In that case, we would need someone to make dinner. I suppose I could ask Nya if she would be willing. Unless Sam would be up to the task."

Sam's widened at the prospect of cooking for the ninja and their teacher. It was true that as a part of her agreement with Sensei, she would make dinner a couple times a week. The problem was, she didn't have much experience with cooking.

"Yes, Sensei, I'd be happy to make dinner," she said. She immediately began running through a list of recipes she could make in her head.

Sensei nodded in approval. "Very well. I shall see you ninja on the deck in fifteen minutes. And good luck to you today, Sam."

Sam bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you, Sensei."

And with that, Sensei retreated back to his quarters to prepare for another day of training with students.

Cole stood up from seat. "Well, I think I'm gonna freshen up before training starts," he said.

One by one, the ninja started clearing the dishes from the kitchen table.

While the ninja were putting the dishes away, Sam met Lloyd's eyes from across the table. She wasn't sure when she should ask him about training to learn Spinjitzu, but knew that now would not be the best time, since the rest of the ninja were in earshot.

"I should be going," Sam said. "See you guys later."

"See you, Sam."

* * *

When Sam came home that afternoon, she was greeted with an empty ship, though outside she could hear the grunting and shouting of the ninjas during their extended training session.

The first thing she did was head straight to the kitchen. Throughout her entire day, Sam had racked her brain (and the Internet) for any potential recipes she could use to make dinner for everyone. She really didn't want to disappoint since she cared a lot for the red ninja and his family, and appreciated all they had done for her so far.

She sighed, her chances of impressing the ninja were weakening by the minute.

Just then, Sam heard the sound of footsteps enter the room. She turned to see Lloyd walking into the kitchen, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Hey, Lloyd," Sam said.

"Hey," the green ninja replied.

"I thought you were training for a little while longer," Sam said. She was curious as to why there were no other ninja following him.

Lloyd's smirk grew wider. "I was," he said. "Except Sensei let me go early since it was obvious I got the sword thing down pat." He was obviously pleased with himself. "So, you ready to train?" the green ninja asked.

Sam bit her lip. "Well, the thing is, I'm supposed to make dinner," she explained. "And I don't know what I should make."

"Well, I'm not really much of a cook," Lloyd said. "But Zane is an excellent chef. You should ask him."

"But isn't he training with the others?"

The green ninja playfully rolled his eyes. "Doubtful," he said. "When I was out there, he seemed like he knew what he was doing with his shurikens. It was clear who needed the practice more."

Sure enough, Zane walked in the room shortly after Lloyd had finished his sentence.

"We'll train tomorrow," Lloyd whispered to Sam, making sure Zane wouldn't hear. "Meet me in the training room at 5 a.m."

As quickly as he said it, the green ninja went into the living room and picked up a game controller. He knew what he was going to do while the other ninja were training.

"Hello, Sam," the white ninja greeted her as he passed by the kitchen. Fortunately, he was oblivious to the conversation Lloyd and Sam had had mere seconds earlier.

"Hey, Zane," Sam said. She took a deep breath, working up the nerve to ask him. "I was wondering if you could help me."

The nindroid stopped and looked at her. "Of course," he smiled. "What is it that you need help with?"

Sam glanced around the room anxiously. "I need to make dinner for you guys and I have no idea what to make."

The nindroid nodded in understanding. "I see." He thought for a moment. "What is that you like to make?"

Sam blushed in embarrassment. "See, the thing is, I don't cook very often. I usually just eat in the dining hall most of the time."

Zane nodded again. He didn't know much about college life, but to him it sounded like the majority of the people in their age group did not cook much, nor did they have a lot of experience with cooking.

"What does Kai like to eat then?" he asked. He hoped that maybe Kai's taste in food would inspire her to come up with something. Frankly, the nindroid didn't pay much attention to what dishes his brother like, since the ninja usually ate what he made anyways. But if his memory served him, the red ninja seemed to enjoy meat very much so.

"He told me he likes...steak...sushi...shrimp...he also like pork chops," Sam recalled.

Zane's assumptions had been correct about the meat. The white ninja thought for a moment again. "Why don't we make pork chops then, since we are short on time," he reasoned. "And the fact that they are easy to prepare is also an advantage."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Let's do it then."

* * *

As it turns out, Zane was willing to assist Sam in preparing the dinner, partly because he wanted to show off his cooking skills, and simply because he loved to cook in general. After discovering that his father had not programmed him to know how to cook very well, he took pride in his talent. It made him feel more human that way.

Zane had assigned Sam the task of mixing the spices while he browned the pork chops. Working together, it made the process go a lot faster. After they had put the pork chops in the oven, Zane and Sam had spent the remaining hour setting the table and making everything look nice for the meal.

Pretty soon, the rest of the ninja came in from training outside on the deck. When they walked in, they were instantly hit with the delicious aroma.

"Mmm, something smells good," Kai said. The three ninja sniffed the air, trying to find out the origin of the tantalizing scent.

"Are those pork chops?" Cole asked, his mouth watering at the thought of the juicy, tender meat.

Zane nodded. "Indeed. Sam and I made them. They are currently in the oven as we speak."

"Well, how much longer are they gonna take?" Jay asked. "I'm starving. All that extra training has worked me up quite an appetite."

"Not very long. We put them in the oven forty-nine minutes ago, so they should be ready soon."

"Great," Kai said as he plopped down on the couch in the living room and put his hands behind his head. "I do love me some good pork chops."

From across the room, the red ninja winked at Sam, who was finishing up cleaning the kitchen and putting away the ingredients from earlier. Sam glanced up from the counter in time to see Kai wink at her, and she felt herself blush. He knew she had made that particular dish to impress him.

* * *

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, the ninja eagerly sat down to eat, along with Sensei and Nya, who had been retrieved by Jay from the control room.

Nya was glad that she didn't have to cook this time, since she and Zane were usually the ones who prepared the meals in the household. Not only that, it was a meal that was made for her by someone other than Zane that actually looked appetizing.

"This looks delicious, Sam," Nya said. "I didn't know you could cook."

Sam smiled. "Actually," she said, "Zane helped me with it."

"That was nice of you, Zane," Nya said.

The white ninja shrugged. "Thank you. I appreciate your praise but truthfully it was Sam who did the majority of the work. I merely guided her in the right direction."

Jay was the first one to take a bite of the pork chops. His eyes widened when he tasted the dish. "This is really good" he said, still in the midst of chewing.

The rest of the ninja dug in and were pleasantly surprised by how tasty the pork chops were. "Yep, better than Cole's," the blue ninja said.

The ninja of earth frowned. "Oh, so now I'm the standard for bad cooking."

Jay flashed a smirk in his teammate's direction. "Don't worry buddy, you earned it."

Once dinner was over with and after the kitchen was cleaned up, the ninja and Sam reconvened in the living room.

This time, Kai opted out of a round of video games just to talk with Sam. The couple sat on the couch while the rest of the ninja sat on the floor in front of the TV with their backs turned to them, completely oblivious to their conversation.

"Dinner was good," Kai said, giving Sam's shoulder a squeeze. He had known she had been nervous about cooking for the ninja, after their talk at the park on Saturday.

Sam smiled. "Thanks," she said. "I couldn't have done it without Zane, though."

The red ninja chuckled. "Well, if anyone knows how to cook, it's Zane," he said. "I'm very lucky to have a brother like him."

"I'll say," Sam laughed. "The only thing my brother does is play video games."

"Hey, we have our own video game champion over here," Kai said, pointing at Lloyd, who was completely engrossed in the game.

At the mention of video games, Sam recalled the day she had come over for the first time and Lloyd had accused her of letting Kai win. She didn't know why that particular moment stuck in her mind so strongly-it could've simply been because meeting Kai's family had been a significant milestone in their relationship, as they continued to evolve into something...more.

She gazed into the red ninja's eyes, which always seemed to shine with a certain warmth and fervor, like a constant flame that never seemed to burn out. It was true that Kai was a passionate person who cared about his brothers deeply, and it amazed her for some reason, seeing how tight his bond with his brothers was, and vice versa.

Needless to say, Kai was a good guy, and she was confident that he wouldn't hurt her like she had been hurt before. And tomorrow, tomorrow would be the start of her training with Lloyd to learn Spinjitzu. Sure, she would have to get up early, but she was determined to learn, for Kai.

He had already gone out of his way for her: first it was returning the bag of marshmallows, then it was skipping practice to see her, and then offering her a place to stay at the least she could do was meet him halfway.


	38. Chapter 38

**Hey everyone! I managed to write this little nugget for you. XD Sorry it's short, but I hope you enjoy it anyways!**

5 a.m. came too quickly for Sam. She had set her alarm for 4:55, just to make sure that she'd be in the training room on time. She wanted to make a good impression on Lloyd. After all, he was the one who was going to be training her.

Careful not to wake Nya up, she quickly shut off her alarm, and, using what willpower she had, she dragged herself out of bed, threw her sweats on, and hastily made her way to the training room.

To her surprise, Lloyd was already there, dressed in his ninja suit.

When he saw her walk into the room, the green ninja winked at her.

"You showed up on time," he said.

"Yeah," she said, putting her hair up in a ponytail. She knew that the green ninja had probably been testing her to see if she was serious about learning Spinjitzu, which she was. She wouldn't have been up at 5 if she wasn't.

Lloyd's face suddenly turned serious. "Alright, if you're gonna learn Spinjitzu, you need to get in shape," he said authoritatively. "Spinjitzu's about being light on your feet and staying balanced, all while keeping your focus."

Sam nodded. "Got it." Sam wasn't the most unhealthy person, since she did play tennis every so often, however, she was nowhere near to being fit.

"Alright then, now we got that settled," Lloyd said, his mouth breaking into a tiny smirk, "Let the real fun begin."

They first started out with stretches, which would help prevent her from pulling a muscle when she did the more vigorous workouts. It also made Sam realize that not only was she not in shape, but she also wasn't the most flexible either.

Next, Lloyd had her work on her core muscles, such as her abs. He even made her do handstands, in which she had to lean against the wall for, since wasn't yet strong enough to do it without assistance. He had to pin her ankles to the wall a couple times to keep her from falling.

He wasn't going to try to have her do flips or anything too aerobic today, since he was afraid she might hurt herself. And it would be kind of a problem if Sam showed up at the breakfast table, limping or showing any other signs of injury.

While Lloyd was patient and wanted her to work at her own pace, Sam was harder on herself. She was starting to become frustrated that she couldn't seem to do much athletically, even though she had played tennis. Although, in tennis, you didn't need to be a gymnast in order to be successful.

Despite Lloyd's words of encouragement, she felt inadequate.

"Don't worry Sam, you'll get it," Lloyd reassured her.

Currently, Sam was holding a plank position on the floor of the training room.

She hadn't been on the ground for a minute, and she could already feel her muscles trembling in order to hold herself up.

The blonde girl grunted in response. The only thing she was aware of was the soreness in her arms and shoulders from the exercises she had been doing.

Finally, she couldn't take the ache in her arms any longer, and collapsed onto the ground.

Lloyd chuckled, trying to lighten the air a bit. "Hehe, that was pretty good," he said. He outstretched a hand to help pull her up.

When she was back on her feet, the girl subconsciously rubbed her sore upper arm. Maybe learning Spinjitzu was going to be harder than she had previously thought.

Lloyd glanced at the clock in the training room and saw that it was almost six o' clock in the morning.

"We better call it a day," he said. "The others'll be up soon."

Sam looked at the clock as well and sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Lloyd turned to her. "Same time tomorrow, then?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, sounds good." Although, in her mind, she was already having doubts about the whole thing.

"Cool," the green ninja said. "I probably should get back to my room before the others wake up."

"Same."

And with that, Sam followed Lloyd out of the training room, and the two headed to their respective bedrooms.

Before she went inside her own room, Sam gave the green ninja one last glance before he disappeared into the ninjas' room.

At this point, it seemed impossible that she'd ever learn Spinjitzu. But it wasn't like her to give up so easily. She just had to keep the faith that if she continued her training with Lloyd, she'd get it.

Still exhausted from her training session with the green ninja, Sam went about her daily morning routine as usual, and then headed to the kitchen. When she entered the room, the ninja were already there, eating breakfast.

"Hey Sam," Cole greeted her as he took a bite of his cereal. "Want some Frosted Oats?" The earth ninja pushed the box towards her while she retrieved a bowl from the kitchen cabinet.

"We were kinda hoping you'd make breakfast today, Sam," Jay said. "But we didn't wanna bother you, since you've seemed to be pretty wiped out lately."

Sam chuckled. "No, it's fine. I could make breakfast for you guys sometime, if you want." She was trying to appear as normal as possible, but on the inside, she could feel herself becoming increasingly anxious. She felt like the rest of the ninja could see right through her.

She glanced at Lloyd, who wore the same disinterested look that he had had since she had arrived on the Bounty. Either he didn't seem to care enough to be concerned about the ninja finding out, or he was a very good actor.

"So, Sam," Kai said, turning to her. "I was wondering if you wanted to come grocery shopping with me. I promised Sensei I'd do the grocery shopping from now on." To be honest, he didn't want to brave the grocery store alone.

Forgetting about Lloyd for a moment, Sam smiled, thinking of when she and Kai had first met at the grocery store. He had been so funny about the toilet paper and everything. It had been very clear that he didn't do the grocery shopping often, so it didn't surprise her that he wanted a companion.

"Sure," she said. "Do you wanna meet there after my internship?"

The red ninja nodded, a grin spreading across his face. "Sure."

Just like every morning, Sam finished up her breakfast and went to her internship. Though today, she was reminded of the training session she had endured this morning due to the persistent soreness in her arms. She hoped that eventually, the exhaustion she felt from her training would lessen. But little did she know that her journey to learning Spinjitzu was far from over.


	39. Chapter 39

After her internship that day, instead of taking the bus back to the station she normally walked home from, she took the bus to the station closest to the grocery store. Like they had agreed that morning, she planned to meet Kai near the entrance of Joe's Finest Foods around 4:30.

Sure enough, when she arrived at the grocery store, Kai was already standing outside waiting for her. He was leaning against the brick wall near the entryway, with his arms folded against his chest. She felt the heat in her cheeks rise, seeing as he looked pretty hot just standing there.

"Hey Kai," she called out to him as she approached him.

The red ninja turned his head in the direction of her voice, and upon seeing her, his eyes lit up. "Hey Sam," he said. "How was work?"

Sam smiled. "It was good," she said. "Tiring, but good."

Kai returned the smile. "I'm glad you came with me," he said. "After the last time, I didn't know how I'd survive. It'd take me years to find anything."

Sam laughed warmly. "Well, I'm glad I can help. I pretty much have the whole grocery shopping thing down to a science."

When the couple went into the store, and after Sam had fetched a cart, Kai pulled out the grocery list from his pocket and began reading the list of items.

"The first thing we need is...detergent."

"Oh, I know where that is," Sam said, pointing in the general vicinity of the aisle.

As the red ninja followed her to the laundry aisle, he reviewed the list again. Most of the items on the list were items that Kai had seen on the last grocery list: bread, cheese, deli meat, cereal, chips, and, you guessed it, toilet paper.

The red ninja slapped himself on the forehead at the ridiculous item. How many times did he have to go through this? At least this time, Sam wasn't the cute stranger that he could accidentally run into while carrying a package of TP.

When they reached the aisle, Kai placed a jug of WhiteBright in the cart and wiped the imaginary dust off his hands in satisfaction.

"Alright, what's next on the list?" Sam asked.

Kai scanned the list once more to double check, but he was sure he knew what the next item was. "Toilet paper," he said, mumbling slightly, obviously embarrassed.

Sam chuckled. "That sounds familiar," she said. It was cute the way he was so sheepish about it.

She led him to the paper goods aisle, and low and behold, the packages of toilet paper were neatly stacked on the shelves, mocking him as they did the last time.

"What kind do you guys get?" she asked. She bent down and examined a package of Joe's Ultra Soft.

The red ninja didn't hear her at first, since he was too stunned looking at the different kinds of bathroom tissue. There had to be hundreds of different brands in that aisle.

Sam was about to pick the package up when he realized what she was doing.

"Um, Sam," he said. "Let's not get that brand."

The blonde girl frowned and tilted her head in confusion. That's when Kai remembered that he had never told her what specific brand of toilet paper it was when Jay had yelled at him.

"Let's just say it does more harm than good," the red ninja elaborated, recalling Jay's complaint about having a chaffed behind.

It was then that Sam made the connection that that was the toilet paper Kai had told her about when they had gotten ice cream.

"Oh."

Thankfully, Kai remembered that the brand name they usually bought was Navy. Once they settled on a package, Kai picked it up and set the toilet paper in the cart. He was still embarrassed to carry it in public, but it helped that Sam was with him.

Finally, when all the items were gathered, the couple went to the checkout. Kai paid for the groceries with the money Sensei had given him, and the two headed out of store. Sam volunteered to carry some of the bags, which were surprisingly heavy.

Wondering how they were going to make it home, carrying a bulky package of toilet paper along with a decent amount of groceries, Sam trailed behind Kai, not wanting him to see her struggling with the bags. She didn't want to appear weak and feeble in front of her strong ninja companion. Not to mention, her feet were killing her, since she was still wearing the heels she had went to work in.

When they reached the exit of the store, however, she was taken aback to see a dragon in the middle of the parking lot.

"Oh my gosh…" she said, staring at the immense dragon standing before her. It was large, maybe about three meters tall, with crimson red scales and giant ruby-colored eyes that were staring down at the two of them.

Kai glanced over his shoulder at Sam, amused by her reaction. "Like it?" he said.

"You have a dragon?" she asked, still gawking at the gigantic beast. She swore she saw spurts of fire coming out of its nose.

"Yep. Well, actually this is my elemental dragon. I used to have a dragon named Flame. We all had one, actually," he explained. "But they had to leave because they were molting, and Sensei said that they may or may not come back. They never did, I guess. But now I have my elemental dragon. I got it after I faced my fear."

"And what was your fear?" Sam asked curiously.

"Snakes," Kai said, "I've always hated them, until…" He paused, remembering the snake, or the girl that had been turned into a snake, or rather, Anacondrai. "...I realized some weren't so bad." If he explained too much, then he'd have to reveal Skylor's identity, and he wasn't about to tell her about his former love interest now.

Sam noticed him hesitate, but didn't question it. She could understand why Kai was afraid of snakes. They were a nasty bunch, for sure.

The red ninja mounted his bags of groceries onto the dragon, then took her bags and mounted them onto the dragon as well.

When he was finished, he climbed onto the dragon himself and outstretched a hand towards her. "You coming?" he said.

Sam glanced up at the dragon, then down at his hand, then back up at the red ninja's face and smiled. She had never ridden a dragon before, and to be honest, the prospect of it was a bit intimidating to her. What if she fell and Kai wasn't able to catch her? Her cautiousness and concern for her safety was partially derived from her upbringing, as well as conditioned by the society that she lived in, where she was taught to lock all her doors and be wary of strangers in case there was a serpentine or a skeleton lurking about.

But nonetheless, there was a childlike excitement in her that craved adventure, and was dying to be expressed. She peered into his soft brown eyes and could feel an overwhelming sense of trust surround her. Without thinking twice, she nodded. "Yeah."

She grasped his hand and he helped pull her up onto the dragon.

After he made sure Sam was settled behind him, Kai turned his head and looked back at her.

"Ready?" he asked.

Sam awkwardly wrapped her arms around the red ninja's waist, feeling the heat in her cheeks rise once more with the contact. She could feel his hard abs against her arms, and prayed that he didn't notice her pulse quicken as she clung to his warm body.

"Think so."

"Alright, hold on."

With one yank of the reins, they took off, causing Sam to emit a short yelp of surprise, and subconsciously grip him tighter.

Kai chuckled. He couldn't deny the fact that he liked the way she held onto him so tightly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, exhaling the air she had been holding in out of anticipation. She glanced down and saw they were already very high up from the ground. Her stomach did a flip. She wasn't usually affected by heights, since she had traveled on airplanes before, but the feeling of riding on a dragon was different. It wasn't as smooth as being on a plane. She felt herself swaying from side to side as the dragon swerved and swayed in the air, and it was bumpy. Her rump even detached from the dragon's back a few times.

Kai sensed her nervousness and laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "I got you."

Once the initial shock began to subside, though, Sam was starting to enjoy riding the dragon. She became aware of the way the wind whipped her face all the turns and twists the dragon made. It was similar to a ride you would find at Mega Monster Amusement Park. She had only been on a roller coaster a couple times, but she did recall that she had liked the sensation.

"Enjoying yourself?!" the red ninja asked, his voice competing with the whooshing of the wind.

"Yes!" Sam answered, competing with the wind as well. "It's very fun, actually!"

"I'm glad!" Kai replied. "I was worried you'd hate it and never want to ride with me again!"

Sam laughed, then paused, remembering what Kai had said about the dragon. "Aren't these only made for one person to ride?!"

"No! ...Well, yeah!" Kai said. "But they can carry the extra weight, if the load is important."

Suddenly, the dragon dipped in the air, its nose pointing towards the ground. Sam let out a shriek of excitement before continuing the conversation.

"That's good!" she replied. "It means they can carry the groceries!"

"I'm not talking about the groceries!" Kai said. Sam's heart skipped a beat.

No more words were exchanged the rest of the way to the Bounty. Only a comfortable silence surrounded the couple. The only sounds made were the whooshing of the wind and the occasional grunt of the dragon.

It was amazing, flying with Kai on the dragon. At first, she had been hesitant to do so, since it was something new and unfamiliar to her. But the red ninja was a natural with the reins. She forgot why she had been nervous at all-it was like the nerves had completely dissipated. And all that was left was the thrill of riding the dragon, and the butterflies that came with holding onto Kai so closely.

He was growing accustomed to her world, as she was growing accustomed to his.


	40. Chapter 40

It had been a few days since her dragon ride with Kai, and everything had continued on as normal for Sam.

It was now Saturday, and Lloyd thought it would be a good day to train, since he expected the others would sleep in a little later than usual.

So, instead of catching up on her sleep like the rest of the ninja, Sam headed to the training room to resume her training with the green ninja.

Lloyd had her stretch out first in a butterfly position on the floor. He sat down next to her, both taking in the serene quietness of the morning.

"Thanks for doing this, by the way," Sam said. "I know I keep saying that, but I just want you to know that I appreciate what you've been doing for me."

Lloyd gave her a soft smile. "Don't mention it," he said. "Glad I could help out a friend."

Silence casted its spell on them once more before the green ninja stood up, wanting to start training before it became too late, or too uncomfortable.

"Alright, why don't we work some more on our core today," Lloyd said, sounding like a fitness instructor.

Sam nodded.

Pretty soon, the girl was up against the wall doing handstands, practicing balancing on her two hands as well as using her abdominal muscles to keep her upright.

Lloyd clung onto her ankles as she practiced getting the feel for holding herself up with one arm.

"It's harder than it looks, doesn't it?" the green ninja chuckled.

"Yeah," Sam grunted, feeling the blood rushing to her head as she struggled to concentrate.

Lloyd had to admit, he did admire the effort she was putting into all of this. He chuckled again. "Well, if you keep this up, you won't even need the wall."

After that, they worked on more strenuous exercises, such as crunches. Well, Sam did crunches while Lloyd watched. This time, he was the teacher, so it was nice not having to actually do the exercise.

"Come on Sam, you can do it!" he encouraged her as she finished her second set of crunches. He was making her do three sets of crunches, fifty each.

While the task was easy to him, however, he knew she was struggling. He let her take a quick break before she resumed the exercise.

"You got fifty more. You can do this," he said, cheering her on.

Finally, after her last crunch, Sam flopped to the ground, exhausted. Her abdominal muscles were killing her. Every time her rib cage expanded, a soreness spread throughout her upper body.

"Good," Lloyd said, giving her a nod of approval. He had to admit, he enjoyed being on the other side of the training for once.

After a couple more exercises, Lloyd decided it was time to stop. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was about 8:30.

"You're doing great, Sam," the green ninja said. "Let's do the same time tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright," Sam agreed.

While training had been tough, she felt as though she was getting a real workout from doing this every morning. It had only been a few days, yet she was starting to feel very motivated about learning Spinjitzu, and just getting in shape in general. Maybe it was because Lloyd was so encouraging all the time. Either way, she was looking forward to their next training session.

* * *

"That was a good movie," Kai said as he and Sam walked through the front door of the Bounty.

The couple had spent the afternoon at the theater, since the day had become rainy as of late that morning. The two had gone to see the newest Batman blockbuster, which had actually been quite entertaining. A little weather wasn't going to deter Kai from spending time with Sam on his day off.

"Yeah, it was good," Sam agreed. "Very exciting."

"Yeah, and Batman's ride was pretty sweet, too," Kai chuckled. "I wish that was my car."

It was a known fact among the ninja that Kai was practically obsessed with cars, especially after PIXAL had let him drive the X-1 Ninja Charger that Cyrus Borg had designed...before it was destroyed by Nindroids.

Sam laughed. Even ninjas liked sporty cars.

To their surprise, the couple was greeted with an empty (and silent) ship. The other ninjas were nowhere in sight.

"Looks like the others aren't back yet," Kai thought aloud, surveying the living room. Since it was their day off, the ninjas usually liked to get out and explore downtown Ninjago for a little while.

She walked into the kitchen. "Well, I should probably start making dinner," she said, setting her purse down on a chair in the kitchen, then going to the sink to wash her hands. The red ninja followed her.

"Want help?" he asked.

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, sure," she said, slightly taken aback by his offer. "You cook?"

"I've cooked a few times," the red ninja answered. "It's not as good as Zane's, but it's still decent, so I've been told," he joked.

Sam laughed. "Sure. What should we make then?" After she finished washing her hands, she went to the pantry and scanned the shelves for things that might inspire her.

"How about burgers?" Kai suggested. "The boys and I can never pass up a good hamburger." His mouth watered at the thought of tasting a hot, juicy hamburger after a damp, chilly day.

At his suggestion, Sam went over to the fridge and opened the freezer door. She peered inside and examined the frozen items until her eyes rested on a package of frozen beef patties.

"Alright," Sam said, a grin spreading across her face. "Let's make dinner then."

* * *

The patties were sizzling in the frying pan when the rest of the ninja returned to the Bounty. Not surprisingly, Jay had been with Nya the entire day.

"Ah, the smell of hamburger," Cole remarked, taking a whiff of the air as he entered the room.

"Yep," Kai said proudly. "Sam and I got home early so we thought we'd make dinner."

"Oh, good for you," the earth ninja answered as he sat down on the couch next to Jay and Nya. "Well, I'm exhausted. I spent the whole day exploring all the music stores in Ninjago. I even got this CD," he said, holding up a disc case with a band name that Kai didn't recognize. "It was hard to find, but it was worth it."

"What'd you guys do today, Kai?" Jay asked. "Me and Nya went to the mall and hung around there all day. And I even got this awesome pirate hat," the blue ninja said excitedly, holding up a hat with a pirate skull on it. "Nya says I look good in it." The samurai giggled in response.

"Sam and I went to the movies," Kai replied, motioning towards his girlfriend. "We went to see the new Batman movie."

Jay's eyes widened. "Oh, the Batman movie as in the one with the super cool, amazing effects and totally, fantastic insane chase scene where he pins the guy down and it looks like he's about to finish him off but he really doesn't? That one?"

"Yeah."

The blue ninja grinned. "Super cool. Hey Zane, what'd you do today?" Jay asked, turning his attention towards the white ninja.

"I went to a lecture by a famous entomologist discussing the effect of the emerald ash borer on ash trees. It was quite interesting."

"Ookay I don't know what that means, but it sounds cool," Jay said, unsure of how to respond to his brother's account.

"What'd you do today, Lloyd?" Cole asked, turning towards the green ninja, who was sitting in the bean bag chair next to the couch.

Lloyd shrugged. "Eh, just browsed around in the comic shop. Nothing special."

Suddenly, the ninja in the living room heard a loud clanking sound coming from the kitchen. They turned to see Kai banging a wooden spoon against a pot.

"Dinner is served," he announced with a smirk.


	41. Chapter 41

As Lloyd and Sam had agreed, Sam woke up the same time as she had yesterday and headed to the training room.

When she arrived, the green ninja was placing foam mats on the floor. Hearing her footsteps, he looked up from what he was doing and greeted her politely.

"Hey, Sam," he said, setting the last mat down.

"Hey Lloyd," she answered. She eyed the mats curiously. "What are those for?" she asked, motioning towards the foam squares that he had arranged across the floor.

"I thought we'd work on fighting techniques today, since they'll help you with Spinjitzu," the green ninja said, brushing his suit of any dust the mats may have had on them.

Sam tilted her head in confusion. She could barely do a handstand, yet Lloyd was wanting her to work on fighting techniques?

Lloyd noticed her puzzled expression and explained. "I know it seems like you haven't made much progress, but you have," he said. "But I think working on multiple areas at the same time will help improve all aspects of your ability. Spinjitzu uses several of those areas: coordination, agility, strength, and focus."

Sam nodded in understanding. "Alright," she said. "What do you want me to do first?"

The green ninja scanned the room until his eyes rested on the punching bag located in the corner of the room.

"Let's start with the punching bag," he suggested, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Okay, when you wanna punch the bag, you need to keep your balance and ground your feet when you punch," Lloyd explained. "When your feet are planted on the ground, you will have more balance, more power, and more control."

To demonstrate, Lloyd threw some punches at the bag. Not surprisingly, he had perfect form and was throwing straight, direct punches at the bag.

"See?" he said.

Sam could only nod in amazement. There was no way she could live up to his standards.

"Now you try," Lloyd said.

Sam glanced at the green ninja and he nodded, motioning for her to continue. With a bit of hesitancy, she walked over to the punching bag and stood in front of it.

"Now, you wanna make sure that you're punching the bag, not pushing it," Lloyd instructed.

It would be a lie if Sam said she didn't feel slightly self-conscious with the green ninja watching her. Still, she gathered up her courage and, using what strength she had, threw a punch at the bag.

Her eyes widened when she saw the bag hadn't moved an inch.

Lloyd chuckled. "It's okay, Sam," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You gotta try a little harder."

"What do you mean?" she asked, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. "I used everything I had."

"It's not just about the strength, Sam. It's about willpower. How much do you wanna learn Spinjitzu?"

"A lot," Sam answered.

"Then take that determination and put it into your punches. The bag won't move unless you let the one thing that drives you give you strength."

"I understand," the girl said. Though deep down, she wasn't sure if she had it in her.

"Give it another try," Lloyd encouraged.

This time, Sam thought of doing Spinjitzu to motivate her. When she punched the bag, she was surprised by how much it moved. It didn't move a whole lot, but it had swung a couple inches.

"There you go. Now if you wanna make it move it even more, you gotta get angry," he said with a smirk.

Sam wasn't an angry person by nature, but off the top her head, she could think of a couple things that had made her angry in the past. Jake made her angry. The way he had used her and had toyed with her emotions. He had taken advantage of her feelings for him and had left her feeling alone and betrayed.

Lloyd noticed her expression change, and as if he was reading her mind, he said, "Think of someone who has made you angry. Pretend they're the punching bag, and give it all you got."

Sam took a deep breath, keeping her focus in check, then punched the bag once more. To her delight, the bag swung a full five inches.

"Good," Lloyd said, nodding in approval. "Let's practice this for today."

Eventually, Sam was getting the hang of using the punching bag. While her form still wasn't the greatest, but Lloyd had seen worse. He'd help her work on it in the lessons to come.

After seeing much improvement in her technique, he wanted to try something different.

"Hey Sam, how about we do something more challenging?" he suggested. "How about we practice kicking now?"

"Sure," Sam said, already attempting to kick the punching bag.

Lloyd cringed. Her form while punching was great, but her form for kicking...not so much.

"You have to get your leg up higher," he said.

Sam kicked the punching bag once more, but aimed higher. "Like this?" she asked.

The green ninja shook his head, then walked over to her. "Your leg's bent," he said. "Here, let me help you."

Sam pretended to kick the bag again, but let Lloyd adjust the position of her leg. He had to kneel down in order to reach her, since he was noticeably taller than she was.

She flinched as pain shot through her leg as Lloyd tried to straighten it out. Her flexibility had improved since she started lessons with the green ninja, but it still could've been better.

"Oops, sorry. Hehe," Lloyd said, lessening his grip on her leg. "Guess I'm just used to it." Being a ninja, he forgot that he was more flexible than probably ninety percent of people in Ninjago.

He blushed, aware that he was still holding onto her. Quickly, he let go of her leg and stood up. "Um, okay," Lloyd cleared his throat, brushing the imaginary dust off his pants. "Why don't we practice running and kicking? I know you probably aren't going into battles anytime soon, but it doesn't hurt to try it, since you are using the areas we talked about earlier." Anything to avoid touching her again.

Sam nodded, barely noticing Lloyd stumble over his words. "Alright," she said. She took a few steps back before running and hitting the bag full-force, only for it to swing back and send her flying backwards and crashing onto the floor.

"Sam!" Lloyd exclaimed, running up to her.

Pain coursed through Sam's left shoulder as Lloyd knelt down next to her. He wasn't a doctor, but he probably could tell if something was truly wrong.

"Um, can I see your shoulder?" he asked, a small blush creeping across his cheeks. He was embarrassed, but he had to cast his own feelings aside for her sake. If she had broken a bone, he'd have to get the others involved.

Still lying down, Sam pulled her short sleeve aside and revealed her left shoulder. There was a bruise, but it wasn't enough to alarm the green ninja. Minimal swelling. No broken bones. Lloyd sighed in relief.

"Hehe, I forgot to warn you about the backswing. Sorry about that," he chuckled nervously. He stood up and outstretched a hand to help pull her up, using her good shoulder.

"Thanks," Sam said, once she was back on her feet.

Lloyd glanced at her shoulder. "Let me get you some ice for that," he said, motioning towards her injury.

Sam followed Lloyd out of the training room and into the kitchen, where he retrieved an ice pack for her. He pulled one out of the fridge and handed it to Sam, who gave him an appreciative smile.

"Thanks," she said quietly, putting the ice pack on her shoulder.

"It's cool," Lloyd answered, his voice equally as quiet. He paused, realizing what he had said and smiled. "Literally, I guess," he chuckled, earning a laugh from Sam.

"I guess this means I won't be training for a few days," she said.

Even though she was smiling, Lloyd could still hear the disappointment in her voice.

"No, we can still train...just do it a different way until the shoulder heals," the green ninja said. "But I'd keep that on for a while, just to make sure it doesn't swell."

Sam nodded. Thankfully, it was only a minor injury, so it would heal soon. But there was still one problem. How was she going to hide it from Kai?


	42. Chapter 42

**Hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks again for all the reviews I've been getting. I always to try to update as soon as possibly can because of them, and your support truly motivates me to continue writing this story. I wrote this chapter really quickly, so sorry if it seems a bit choppy, but you'll get the point. Anyways, I wanted to thank you guys so much, and I hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

"And then the Overlord told me that he'd steal all my candy unless I gave him a bazillion rubber duckies, then suddenly I was in front of my twin sister's house, and a giant dog attacked me, then the next thing I know I had a hole in my pants!" Jay rambled on as recalled the dream he had had the night before.

Kai, Cole, and Zane rolled their eyes at the blue ninja's bizarre imagnation, yet, to be honest, they were slightly intrigued.

"Why would the Overlord want rubber duckies anyway?" Cole asked, taking a bite of his cereal.

Jay shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he was dirty and wanted to take a bubble bath."

Just then, Lloyd entered the kitchen. "Hey guys," he said, taking a seat at the tab. The others couldn't pinpoint what it was, but the green ninja seemed off.

"Hello, Lloyd," Zane said. "What brings you to breakfast later than usual?" he asked. The green ninja was usually one of the first to rise in the morning.

Lloyd shrugged. "Just a little tired, I guess." What the green ninja said was true. Waking up a couple hours earlier every morning had started to take a toll on him. After he had gotten the ice pack for Sam, he had gone back to bed, only to rise later than the others.

The earth ninja passed a bowl and the box of Frosted Oats towards him, and Lloyd proceeded to pour himself a bowl of cereal.

"Me too," Cole agreed. "I woke up this morning and thought I heard something, but I fell back asleep. Didn't think much of it after that."

The rest of the ninja's eyes rested on Lloyd, and the green ninja realized that his spoon had been hanging suspended in midair. "Oh, well, I don't know. Maybe it was the wind or something," he said quickly, then took another bite of Frosted Oats.

The other ninja shrugged it off, assuming that the pressure of being the green ninja had finally gotten to him, or he was very, very tired.

"Sam must be pretty tired too, then," Kai remarked. "She hasn't come out of her room yet."

Lloyd's eyes widened. Unlike Kai, he had a fairly good idea of why Sam hadn't emerged from her room yet. "Guess it's just one of those days then, hehe," he chuckled nervously. He wasn't sure what Kai would do to him if he found out Sam had gotten hurt under his watch. And he certainly didn't want to find out.

The older ninjas tilted their heads curiously. Something was definitely up.

"Anyways, Sensei told me that break time would be earlier today," Cole said. "Said he has to go downtown to get some more tea later, so he'll end training earlier."

"'Cause if we know Sensei, he'll go nuts without his tea," Kai chuckled.

As if on cue, Sensei walked into the room, carrying his morning cup of tea. "Good morning, students," the martial arts teacher said as he entered the kitchen.

"'Morning, Sensei," his students responded.

"As you might have heard, I have decided to end training early so that I am able to purchase some more tea later this afternoon," he said. "Therefore, break time will begin at one o'clock, and training will end at three instead of four."

"That's good, Sensei," Cole said. "Because I have a lot of sitting around to do. And possibly another phone call to make," he added, referring to Brooke.

The martial arts teacher didn't respond. Instead, he looked around the table and noticed something was missing.

"It appears some are sleeping in morning," Sensei remarked. The other ninja nodded.

"Yeah, she's usually eats breakfast with us," Kai said. "But I haven't seen her since last night." The red ninja stood up. "I'm gonna go see if she's alright."

Lloyd, who had been observing the conversation, panicked, knowing that if Kai went to check on her, he'd probably see her injured shoulder. And if his teammate found out that she had hurt herself under his watch, he'd be in big trouble, and their whole plan would be jeopardized.

"I-I'm sure she's fine, Kai," Lloyd said, causing the rest of the ninja to look at him funny. "She's probably just tired and needs to rest a little longer."

The green ninja could see his brother hesitate. Everything was pulling at him to go to Sam's room and check on her. However, he knew that Kai wouldn't want to disturb her if she simply needed more sleep.

The red ninja sat back down. "I'll check on her later then."

Lloyd exhaled softly. That had been too close of a call.

Sensei eyed his nephew. He sensed there was something troubling him but wasn't going to pry.

"Very well. I shall see you all on the deck in ten minutes."

* * *

About an hour after training had started, Sam emerged from her room in search of a new icepack, since the one Lloyd had given her earlier that morning was starting to lose its coolness.

Nya, who had also woken up later than she usually did, had questioned her about her injury, but Sam had simply told her that she had bumped her shoulder against the doorframe of their bathroom in the middle of the night, which seemed to satisfy the samurai's curiosity. Nya was more focused on working on her newest upgrades to the Bounty, which she had stayed up late to do, resulting in her rising later than normal.

Currently, it was around 12:30, and Sam had returned to the kitchen to make herself a sandwich for lunch. She had spent most of the day in her room, organizing and nursing her injury, which had significantly improved since this morning. Of course it was still sore, but there was zero to minimal swelling, and the redness of her skin due to the trauma was completely gone.

After Sam had made her sandwich, she went to sit in the living room and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Bounty, minus the faint grunts and shouts from the boys training outside on the deck. She removed the icepack in order to eat her lunch, but after she was done, she placed it on her shoulder again, just to make sure that the swelling would stay at a minimum.

Little did she know that the ninjas' break time had been moved to an earlier hour. Before she could dash and hide in the privacy of her room, she heard the screen door to the deck open.

"Oh man, that was a workout," she heard Kai say as he walked into the room. Seeing a blonde head of hair poking out from the back of the couch, the red ninja walked over to her, excited to see her for the first time that day. "Hey Sam," he said.

At the sound of his voice, Sam turned her head to find the red ninja standing next to her. "Missed you at breakfast this morning." At the sight of the icepack, Kai frowned. "What happened to your shoulder?" he asked.

Sam glanced at the ice pack, then back up at Kai, trying to prevent herself from panicking. "I, uh, hit it on the doorframe of the bathroom last night. No big deal," she said quickly.

Kai studied her for a moment, causing Sam to worry if he would buy it or not. Fortunately, the red ninja gave her a sympathetic look, indicating he believed her. "Sorry you hurt yourself," he said, taking a seat next to her. "I can't even count the number of times I've hurt myself. Comes with being a ninja, I guess." Though he wouldn't admit it, half the injuries he had sustained resulted from him being clumsy.

Sam smiled. "It's okay. I'll be fine," she said reassuringly. Her injury was minor, but she appreciated the concern he showed for her.

The red ninja returned the smile. "That's good," he said. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Without either of them realizing it, Kai's hand somehow had intertwined with hers since they had been sitting there together.

Sam glanced down at her lap shyly, feeling her cheeks starting to burn under the red ninja's gaze. When she looked up, he was still watching her, his brown eyes shining with compassion and kindness. She found herself leaning in closer, being pulled towards them by some magnetic force.

"Sorry to interrupt," a voice said from behind them. They turned to find none other than Lloyd standing behind the couch. "But Sensei wants to talk to you, Kai."

After processing what the green ninja was saying, Kai sighed and reluctantly stood up from the couch. "Why is it always me that he wants to talk to?" he complained as he went outside to talk to his teacher on the deck.

Once Kai had left, Lloyd bent over from behind the couch and leaned in towards Sam. "What did he say when you told him about your shoulder?" he asked.

Sam shrugged. "I told him I bumped into a doorframe," she replied. "And he seemed okay with it."

The green ninja smiled. "Good," he said. "'Cause he was gonna check on you during breakfast. I barely convinced him to leave you alone."

At the green ninja's words, Sam sighed. Hiding the Spinjitzu thing from Kai was a lot harder than she had imagined, not to mention it was beginning to weigh on her conscience. "I don't know, Lloyd, maybe I should just tell him," she said. "I hate going behind his back. But I really wanted to surprise him."

"And you will," Lloyd said. "This is just a little bump in the road. We can keep it a secret from now on," he reassured her. He didn't want her to lose hope just yet. "Trust me, it'll all be worth it."


	43. Chapter 43

Cole sat in one of the desk chairs in the control room, waiting for Brooke to pick up. This was the second time he had attempted to call her, so of course he was a bit nervous. Though their last phone conversation had gone quite well, considering the circumstances. She had never seen him in person before, yet she had talked to him like they had been old friends catching up, though of course some professionalism had been maintained.

The earth ninja put the phone up to his ear, letting it ring a few times until a feminine voice picked up.

"Hello?" the voice said.

"Hey Brooke, it's Cole," the earth ninja answered.

"Oh hey, Cole. What's up?" The girl sounded cheerful, giving him confidence.

"Nothin' much. Just did a little shopping yesterday."

"You did now?"

"Yeah, bought a CD."

"Cool. What kind of music?" she asked.

"Soft rock."

It sounded kind of lame for him to say out loud. He didn't want her to think he was a total loser. A girl like her probably listened to all the hip stuff on the radio. However, to his surprise, the earth ninja received positive feedback on his preferred choice of music.

"Very cool. That's my favorite type of music too," she said.

Cole's heart lifted, finding they had something in common.

"Yep, loved it since I was kid."

"Me too. And I'm glad I get to listen to it at work."

"At the clothing store?" He remembered that Brooke had told him she worked at a clothing store in her home village.

"Yeah. They pipe it in from the local rock radio station here."

"Nice," he said. "You been working a lot?"

"Kinda. I've been working some other people's shifts on top of my own scheduled hours so that if I want to go on vacation or something later in the summer, they can work my hours," she answered.

"Is there a place you're planning to go visit?" He secretly hoped Ninjago City was one of them.

"I don't have a specific place in mind yet, but wherever I decide to go, there's gotta be plenty of sun. I don't like being cooped up indoors all day at a job."

Cole crinkled his nose at the thought of being stuck inside all day. As the ninja of earth he loved being outside. "I hear you. Sam's job is like that. She's always inside," he said, referring to their houseguest.

"Yeah, Sam's always been a busy girl," she chuckled, knowing her roommate's tendency for always being on-the-go. "How's she doing?"

"Good I think," Cole replied. "Though she's been pretty wiped out lately. She didn't even come to breakfast this morning."

There was silence on the other end.

"Wait a minute. Sam's living with you?" she asked.

"Yeah, Kai's here too. She didn't tell you?" he asked. The earth ninja crinkled his brow in confusion.

"She told me that she was living with a friend of Cyrus Borg."

"Yeah, we're friends with him. The ninja and I."

"Hold up. You're living with ninja?!" He could hear the surprise in her voice.

"Well, I guess I am, since I'm one too," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Get outta here!" she exclaimed, so loudly that Cole had to remove the speaker from his ear.

"No, it's the truth," he said. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you."

"I'm surprised she didn't tell me either. You don't happen to be the ninja who saved Ninjago City from the Anacondrai are you?"

"Yep, that's us," the earth ninja declared proudly.

"No way! I can't believe she didn't tell me!" she said. "Though Sammie's always been a private person. Oh, she's gonna get an earful when I talk to her."

Cole chuckled. "Scary to think your roommate's living with five ninja and a samurai isn't it?

"There's a samurai too?!" Who knew one phone call could be so informative?

"Yeah, that's Kai's sister, Nya," Cole explained. "She does most of the nitty gritty around here, like making sure we all don't fall to our deaths 'cause the ship crashes."

"Ship?" the girl repeated. "But we're not even near the ocean."

"I know we aren't," Cole said. "Which is why we fly it instead of sail it."

"A flying ship?"

To be honest, the earth ninja was surprised at how little Sam had told her. "Yeah, you've had to have seen it a couple times flying across Ninjago City."

Brooke had recalled seeing some sort of vessel flying through the air on occasion. "Oh, that ship," she said. "That's yours?"

"Yep, we call it the Bounty," Cole replied. "It's not much, but it's what we call home."

"Now let me get this straight. You're telling me that right now Sam is living on a flying ship, with five ninja and a samurai?"

"And our sensei," Cole added. "But other than that, that pretty much sums it up, yes."

There was another moment of silence on the other end.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" he said.

"Yeah," the girl finally said. No doubt she had been taking it all in. "Well, when you see her, tell her to call me, okay?"

"Will do."

"Alright then. See you, Cole.

"M'kay." Deep down, he had wanted to talk to her longer, but he supposed that she had probably heard more than she could handle in one phone call.

"Bye."

"Bye."

As he hung up the phone, Cole realized that maybe it hadn't been the best idea to spill the beans about them being ninja. If Sam had wanted to keep what right did he have to go blabbing about it to her roommate? Man, was he in trouble.

He left the control room, and went to go find Sam. Brooke had wanted to talk to her, so it was his job to pass along the message.

He found her sitting on the couch with Kai, who happily had his arm around her. After Lloyd had interrupted them earlier, he was probably glad he could spend some time with her.

"Hey Sam, I talked to Brooke," Cole said as he entered the living room.

Kai and Sam turned to see Cole running into the room. "Oh, really? What she'd say?" she asked.

The earth ninja shot the blonde a sheepish look. "Well, it's more about what _I_ said."

Sam's blue eyes widened in concern. "What did you say?"

Cole glanced anxiously around the room, avoiding his houseguest's gaze.

"I may have told her that I was a ninja, and that you were living with us."

Sam's jaw dropped. "You told her?"

"I thought she already knew," the earth ninja said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Apparently not."

Sam let the information sink in.

"But she wants you to call her," he added.

"Probably so she can chew me out," she said. "But it's my fault for not telling you."

"Why does it matter if she knows, anyways?" Cole asked. "It's not like she's gonna tell everyone."

"I know, I just wanted to do it for your guys' sake, since I know you don't wanna be broadcasting where you live," Sam explained. "A ninja's trained to hide in plain sight, right?" she joked, earning a chuckle from both Kai and Cole.

"But what's one more person knowing?" the earth ninja said. "She wouldn't tell anyone, would she?"

Sam shook her head. "No, she wouldn't," she said. "But she's certainly not gonna let _me_ hear the end of it."


	44. Chapter 44

Sam sat in her desk in her office at Borg Industries, intensely focused on her work. She was currently helping to design an autopilot car, a project that was being collaborated on with the other interns. Of course, Cyrus had already experimented with this type of invention before, but he working to create something more practical that the general population could use, so he let the interns have a go at designing such an invention.

She was so focused on her computer screen that she didn't notice her boss enter the room.

"Samantha," a cheerful voice said.

She looked up to see none other than Cyrus Borg enter the room.

"Mr. Borg." She immediately straightened up in her seat

"Hello, Samantha. I apologize if I startled you," the dark-haired man said.

Sam shook her head. "Oh, no. I was just working on the blueprints for the automated car you wanted."

"And how is it going?" Mr. Borg asked.

"Very good, actually. The other interns and I have come up with a rough blueprint of the car. There's been a debate about the extra amenities, but overall, it's pretty solid."

Cyrus nodded in approval. "Excellent," he said. "I will take a look at it as soon as you send the file to me. I must admit, it is exciting to have all you young and innovative minds helping me out this summer."

Sam smiled at the older man. "I'm glad be here, sir."

"And I am glad you all enjoy being here," he replied. "I have spoken with the other interns and they appear to be having fun as well. It's important to enjoy one's work, especially if one is planning to make a career out of it."

The blonde nodded respectfully. "I agree."

"Well, I wanted to stop by to see how you were doing. I make it a point to speak with all of my employees. I think it helps establishes a friendly and productive work environment," Cyrus explained. "Anyways, I will leave you to your work."

The man turned to leave. As he exited the room, Sam couldn't help but notice the mechanical legs her boss used to get around with. It sparked a certain curiosity in her, and she was instantly reminded of when Kai had told her about the Overlord.

"Mr. Borg," she blurted out.

The older man turned to face his intern again.

"Excuse me for asking, but is it true that Ninjago City was taken over by someone called the Overlord?"

Cyrus was surprised that she would inquire about such a subject, but didn't hesitate to answer.

"Yes, unfortunately, there was," he said. "A couple of years ago, the Overlord had found a way to revive himself by converting himself into a digital virus and tried to take over Ninjago City. Unfortunately, I didn't find out until it was too late."

He looked down at the floor sadly, recalling the memory.

"So it was only a matter of time that I called the ninja and sought their help. In the end, the white ninja, Zane, had sacrificed himself to defeat him, and for that I am greatly indebted to him-to all of them actually, for saving the city and my company."

Sam's eyes widened. Cyrus's tale had been more information than she had wanted to know. Yet, there were so many other questions she was dying to ask, such as: What was the Overlord like? Was he as scary as people made him out to be? How was he defeated? And, most importantly, how was it possible Zane sacrifice himself, when he was standing before her mere hours ago?

"I see that questioning look in your eyes, my dear," Cyrus Borg said. "May I ask what is troubling you?"

Sam shook her head, breaking her free of her thoughts. She realized she had been spacing out for maybe half a minute or so.

"It's just that..." she began. "It's amazing how the ninja would do anything for each other, even in the most dire circumstances."

Cyrus nodded. "Indeed. I assume you have met them?"

Sam stared blankly at her boss, slightly taken aback by his remark. "Excuse me?"

"The tone of voice of which you speak. It sounds like you have a certain degree of fondness for them, which could only mean you have a more personal tie to them."

The girl felt a blush creep across her cheeks. "Yeah," she said, wondering if it was that obvious. "The ninja have taken me in for the summer until college starts up again." It couldn't hurt to tell him, since he already knew the ninja.

Cyrus's eyes widened. "Oh, really?" he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "That must be exciting."

"Oh, it is," Sam chuckled. "They were nice enough to let me stay on their ship, since my family lives a few hours away, and I had to stay close to the city in order to get here," she explained.

The dark-haired man smiled. "They are good people. I remember meeting them for the first time, how lively and high-spirited they all seemed, even just coming to see an old man such as myself," he said. "As I recall, Jay in particular was enthusiastic about coming. Right away, I could tell that he was very interested in technology."

Sam laughed. "He is. I found that out quickly when I told him I was going to be working here."

Cyrus chuckled, imagining the blue ninja's reaction to an opportunity such as Sam's. "Well, you can tell him that he is welcome to visit anytime. And the others if they would like," he said. "I know they are probably very busy being ninja and all, but I would love to have them visit sometime."

The blonde smiled. "I will," she said.

Cyrus returned the smile. "Very well. I shall leave you to your work now," he said as he turned to leave.

After he had left the room, Sam continued to work on her blueprints. However, she was not as focused as she had been before. She replayed the conversation she had just had with her boss, and smiled, thinking about the ninja. They were good people, and she was grateful to have them in her life, for now at least, until college started up again.

She imagined all the adventures they had been on, all the battles they had fought. That was their life. And this was hers, sitting at a desk, doing work. Not to say that she did not enjoy working to a certain degree, but she couldn't help but wonder what it was like, to always be on your guard, going into battle without knowing if you were going to win or lose. If you were going to die for the ones you loved.

The ninja would do anything for each other, and that was a trait she deeply admired in all of them. After Cyrus had told her about Zane's sacrifice, how he risked his life to save Ninjago City from the Overlord a couple years ago. While it was a mystery as to how he had resurrected magically, she imagined how hard it must've been for all of them, how the team had managed to hold together after the incident. She did not know about the whereabouts of the ninja in the past year or so, but whatever had happened, it had to have been pretty rough. Lloyd had lost his father, and the city had been attacked by giant snakes, which the news had indicated, were very brutal creatures. The Anacondrai incident had happened the summer before her freshman year of college, so she hadn't been there to witness it, but it had sounded bad.

There was probably a lot about the ninjas' past that she would never know, and she'd just have to accept it. Yet, her curious mind still wandered, and she continued to daydream, throughout the rest of her day at Borg Industries.

* * *

**So Sam is curious about what the ninja have been up to lately... This could pose a problem, especially if Kai wants to hide his past with Skylor from her. As I always say, thank you to all who have been reading my story. Sorry if the end of this chapter was a bit rambly, but I think it helps to emphasize the conflict with Sam growing accustomed to the ninjas' lifestyle, and helps to set up future conflicts as well. So anyways, don't forget to R &amp; R, and I will update soon!**


	45. Chapter 45

**Hey guys, sorry for the long wait. I've been adjusting to school and everything, so sorry it has been taking a while. Now, I did complete this chapter two night ago, but I still think it needs work. But I wanted to post SOMETHING for you guys, and just something to move the plot forward. It's short, but bear with me. :)**

That evening, Sensei, the ninja, and Sam and Nya sat at the dinner table, eating Miyabi soup, a Japanese dish that Zane had prepared. Monday night's meals tended to be casual, since everyone (meaning Zane and Nya) was too lazy to do much cooking.

Nonetheless, the dinner table was alive with chatter amongst the ninja and the girls.

"So, Sam, how was work today?" Kai asked, earning the blonde several inquiring looks.

"It was good," she said, taking a spoonful of soup. "I talked to Mr. Borg today."

Not surprisingly, Jay's eyes widened, eager to hear about anything related to Borg or his company. "Ooo, what'd he say?"

Sam chuckled, recalling the conversation she and her boss had had regarding the blue ninja. "Well, I told him that I was living with you guys for the summer," she said. "And he said that you're all welcome to visit him anytime, especially you, Jay."

The blue ninja's jaw dropped. "Me?" he asked.

"Yeah, since you like technology so much, he thought you could come take a look at the projects he's been working on."

Jay simply stared at her in disbelief, though on the inside it was obvious that he was jumping up and down excitedly at the news.

"Really? That is so cool!" he exclaimed. Unbeknownst to him, other ninja had smirks tugging at their lips at his enthusiasm. "It has been my dream to help Cyrus Borg with his inventions!"

Cole playfully rolled his eyes. "We know, Jay, you've only said that like a bazillion times already."

The earth ninja then turned to their houseguest. "So, Sam, did you ever call Brooke back yet?" he asked, loudly slurping his soup in the process.

Sam gave him a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I called her when I got home. She wasn't too happy with me, but she's forgiven me, I think. Especially after I told her that she should come visit Ninjago City this summer."

Cole's eyes widened. "Brooke's coming?"

"Maybe. She doesn't know when yet. It's a three hour drive from her village to here, so we'd have to plan for it."

The earth ninja simply stared at his crush's roommate in disbelief. The very thought of Brooke coming to the Bounty made his heart leap in excitement.

The other ninja, however, couldn't help but smirk as they exchanged knowing glances. They were all thinking when Cole wanted her to visit: soon.

Sensei, on the other hand, was leery of the idea of having, yet, another girl staying on the Bounty, but did not comment.

Sam suddenly realized her mistake. "I-I mean, if it's okay with Sensei," she said, mentally slapping herself for about forgetting to ask for the martial arts teacher's approval.

Sensei was silent for a moment before speaking. "I would not mind having her as a guest. However, I feel that some are not disciplined enough to handle it."

"What do you mean, Sensei?" Cole asked.

"I mean, I do not want any extra distractions, since some of us may have trouble with focusing."

"Hey, I am super focused, Sensei," Kai said, taking a spoonful of soup.

Sensei stroked his beard for a moment, eyeing his pupil curiously.

"I see. And have you noticed that your soup is no longer on your spoon?"

The red ninja gave his teacher a confused look before glancing down at his pants and noticed his spoonful of soup had landed on his lap.

"Ugh," Kai grumbled at the unpleasant surprise, and hastily grabbed a napkin and began to clean up the mess.

"I mean, I have plenty of focus, Sensei," Cole said, redirecting the conversations. "Unlike Kai, I have some self-control."

Jay snorted. "Yeah, the same self-control you have when you're around food."

"Shut it, Jay. That's different," Cole retorted, glaring at his brother.

Sensei sighed. Maybe he was getting a little old for this.

"We will see in time," the martial arts teacher said. He then turned to their houseguest. "Just let me know when you think Brooke is coming. I would like to have a place to sleep for her ready in case she does indeed decide to come sometime this summer."

As always, Sam gave the older man a respectful nod. "Yes, Sensei."

* * *

After dinner, after the dishes were put in the washer and the table was cleared, the ninja and the girls spent the rest of the evening playing video games. While it was mostly the ninja who played, Nya and Sam participated as well.

During one of the ninja's' games, Sam, once again, remembered the night she had come over and played video games with the ninja. Again, she wasn't sure why that evening had especially stood out in her mind. And again, she thought that maybe it was because it was a significant milestone in her and Kai's relationship. But as she continued to think about it, she began to think that maybe it was something else.

As she watched the boys play video games on the floor, Lloyd's blond hair almost seemed to illuminate against the light of the TV. It was a mystery as to how he had been able to catch on that she had been trying to let Kai win so quickly, but nonetheless, it seemed like he had made a lasting impression on her. The first time she had spoken with him, it had been quite clear that the legendary green ninja had a good heart. Not to mention how much time he had sacrificed to train her. Yet, he always seemed so good-natured about it.

"Hey Sam," a female voice said.

Sam turned her head to face Nya, who was eyeing her curiously.

"Y-Yeah?" Sam asked, snapping out of her trance.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the mall tomorrow," Nya said. Thankfully, she appeared to be completely unaware that she had been spacing out.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, sure, I'd love to," she said.

Nya smiled. "Cool. Thought maybe we could do something, since we haven't had a 'girls' day' yet," the samurai chuckled. "That way, we could get to know each other better."

Sam returned the smile. "Yeah, I like that. Sounds like fun."

"Cool. Do wanna go after your internship?" the samurai asked.

Sam nodded again. "Yeah, we could do that."

"In that case..." Nya said, turning to the ninja on the floor. "Boys, you're on your own tomorrow night for dinner," she declared.

Amazingly, the ninja heard her despite being totally engrossed in their game.

"Okay. Zane can cook for us, then." Jay responded, his eyes still glued to the TV screen.

Zane raised an eyebrow, knowing his brother had volunteered him without his consent.

"How do you know that I will be able to cook tomorrow night?" the white ninja asked.

"Because, you're Zane. You always cook," Jay explained, matter-of-factly.

At his brother's remark, the white ninja couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're right. I do enjoy cooking," he said.

"Well, if Zane wasn't here, I could make my chili," Cole interjected, his tongue twisted in concentration.

Of course, none of the ninja were too enthusiastic about the idea.

"I mean, I know how to cook a little," Kai said, changing the subject. "We had to learn how to cook in my home village." As the words left his mouth, the red ninja's avatar was hit by the blue ninja's.

"Aha! Two points for me!" the blue ninja exclaimed.

As the brotherly banter went on, Sam became lost in her thoughts once more...More specifically, thoughts of the green ninja. She noticed that she had been drawn to him from the beginning, only now was she starting to realize that maybe her feelings went beyond plain admiration...

Did she have feelings for Lloyd?

**Okay, okay, I know it might be a bit early for this, but I'm super lazy and I'm not sure when I'm going to update this. But basically, what is happening is that Sam is beginning to realize she has feelings for Lloyd. Now, before any of you go all out on me saying that she's a player or something like that, I want you to understand that these feelings are not intentional. It just so happens that as she spends more time with him, she grows fonder of him. It is a perfectly natural thing. It will be the way that she handles these feelings will determine what kind of person she is. And, I would also like to point out that while Kai is starting to refer to her as his girlfriend, they are not in a committed relationship yet. They haven't even kissed yet! (I sound like Jay, lol.) But seriously, it's all about the circumstances, so if you want to find out what happens next, please keep reading! I appreciate all your positive feedback. :)**


	46. Chapter 46

After her internship the next day, which was Tuesday, Sam headed to the mall to hang out with Nya. It was true that she hadn't spent a lot of time with the female samurai since she had arrived on the Bounty, but she was hoping that the outing would help strengthen their friendship.

When she arrived at the mall, she scanned the crowd for her raven-haired friend. The girls had agreed to meet in the food court, since it was getting to be closer to dinner time.

At last, Sam spotted the red ninja's sister, sitting at a table near McNoodle's, which was basically a knockoff of Chen's Noodle House. The samurai was fiddling with her wristband, waiting for her friend to arrive.

"Hey Nya," Sam said as she approached the table.

Nya lifted her head and saw Sam walking over to her.

"Hey Sam," Nya said. "Take a seat."

As she was told, Sam took a seat across from her, and they began to talk.

"So how was work today?" she asked.

Sam shrugged. "It was good. Some of the other interns had a disagreement about what to put on the blueprints, but they worked it out," the blonde replied. "How was your day?"

"It was good," Nya answered. "Finally was able to figure out why my new rocket boosters weren't working. So if we ever need to leave in a hurry, we'll be ready."

The blonde chuckled. "There hasn't been too much going on in Ninjago City has there?"

"Nope," Nya said. "But I can tell the ninja are getting antsy about it. Especially my brother."

This made Sam laugh even more, knowing the red ninja was impatient and always needed to be doing something. "He's probably eager to battle, isn't he?"

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "Yeah, Kai's always ready to prove himself in a fight," she said, rolling her eyes. "But since he's met you, he's calmed down a little. I can tell he really likes you."

Sam felt the heat in her cheeks rise. "You can?"

"Definitely," the samurai answered. "I see the way he looks at you. Haven't seen him look that way at anyone in a while."

In a while. The words rang in Sam's head. She wondered what Nya had meant by that.

"But I know Lloyd's fine with the peace," she continued. "The poor guy's been through so much lately, with losing his father and all."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "That must be tough for him."

Nya nodded. "We've all been through some rough times, but we get through them. As a family."

For some reason, those words gave Sam comfort, and only confirmed her belief that she was very lucky to be integrated into such a close-knit family. Of course, she and her own family were pretty close, but with the ninja it was different. They weren't even related, yet their loyalty to one another was practically unshakeable, and the bond they shared was stronger than most real families.

"So, do you wanna grab a bite to eat?" Nya asked, breaking Sam free from her thoughts.

"Sure," she said.

* * *

After Sam and Nya had gotten some food at McNoodle's, they proceeded into the mall, in search of a good place to shop.

"Ninjago City Mall is so huge," Nya remarked. "I don't even know where to start."

Sam laughed. "I know right? Someone could seriously get lost in here."

The two girls continued to explore the mall, passing up each store they walked by.

Finally, the samurai spotted a small boutique towards the end of the mall, which had dresses and other summery-looking clothes on display.

"What about there?" she asked, motioning towards the store.

Sam's face lit up at the sight of the boutique. "Sure," she said. "I've never seen that place before." She figured it must be a new store—although, the blonde had been pretty busy lately, so she really hadn't had the chance to go to the mall, unlike her roommate, who was practically at the mall 24/7.

Entering the boutique, the girls were greeted with a very comfortable atmosphere. The store was small, so it was a bit squeezy, but it sure beat the frantic, hustly bustly feel that the rest of the mall had.

"This is so cute," Nya said, as she walked over to a little red dress located in the corner of the store. The dress was a deep red, almost burgundy, with gold trim embroidered on the bottom of the skirt.

"That is pretty," Sam agreed, imagining the samurai in the dress, and then herself. No doubt Nya would be able to pull the dress off better. Sometimes she felt like she paled in comparison to the samurai's beauty.

Upon receiving positive feedback from her friend, Nya glanced at the price tag of the dress and frowned. "It's expensive," she commented. She then turned to the blonde. "And no doubt you're on a budget, since you're a college student."

Sam chuckled. "Yep. Being broke is pretty typical for us," she said. Unlike the rest of the ninja, the samurai seemed to know more about the college life.

After a few minutes of browsing, Sam was ready to leave. She had seen some cute things, but, like Nya said, they were too expensive.

Suddenly, she heard Nya gasp. Sam turned to see the raven-haired girl looking at a fuchsia-pink sundress hanging on the other side of the store.

"Sam! Look!" Nya exclaimed, taking the dress of the rack. "This would look so cute on you!" Just to confirm her statement, Nya held the dress up to the blonde. "You should try it on."

Glancing at the dress, Sam wasn't sure why the samurai had picked it out for her. While she agreed it was cute, she wasn't sure if she would like it or not. The blonde usually stuck to pastelly colors, so choosing a hot pink dress seemed a bit bold for her. Of course, Brooke wasn't afraid to be a bit bold, since she liked the attention, but Sam had always been more of a bystander of sorts. Nonetheless, Sam agreed.

When she came out of the dressing room, Nya smiled. The dress had a slight ruffle from the waist down, stopping just above her knee. Little did the blonde know that Kai would've tripped over his own feet seeing her in it.

"Aww, you look so cute, Sam!" Nya exclaimed. She wasn't usually this excited about clothing, but she was shopping with a fellow girlfriend, which made everything more fun. "Of course, I wouldn't pick it out for me, but it looks stunning on you."

Sam looked at herself in the mirror and spun around a couple times, admiring the way the dress swished as she moved. "It is kind of cute, isn't it?" she said, more to herself than to the samurai.

"You should get it," Nya encouraged. "I know a certain someone who would like it," she said, giving the blonde a wink.

Sam felt herself blush thinking about the red ninja. "You think so?" she asked.

"Of course he would," Nya responded matter-of-factly. "I guarantee it."

* * *

To Nya's delight, Sam ended up buying the dress, which wasn't as expensive as the blonde had feared it would be. Since she was indeed working and earning money, Sam reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to splurge on a brand new outfit. And to Sam's relief, she and Nya seemed to connect with each other really well. This was the first time they had hung out, yet she already felt like they were close friends. She just hoped that Nya and her roommate would get along if Brooke decided to visit later this summer.

On the bus ride home, Sam thought it would be a good time to ask the raven-haired girl a burning question that had been lingering in her mind for the past day or so.

"Nya, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Sam took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, I was talking to Mr. Borg yesterday about you and the ninja, and he told me about the Overlord and how he had tried to take over New Ninjago City a couple years ago."

"Yeah, it wasn't our best of times," Nya chuckled, remembering her conflict with Jay and Cole.

"…and he told me about Zane and how he sacrificed himself to save everyone. And, call me stupid for asking, but how is Zane here now?"

Sam glanced up at her friend, praying that she hadn't brought up a touchy subject. Thankfully, Nya didn't seem deterred by her question.

"Yeah, we thought we lost him for a while," the samurai answered, a hint of sadness flickering over her features. "The ninja went their separate ways, and it was just Lloyd, me, Sensei Wu, and Garmadon for a while."

Sam's ears perked up at the mention of the green ninja.

"Lloyd tried everything to get the team back together, but they all refused—the stubborn boys that they are," Nya chuckled again, trying to lighten the mood of the story. "Until, they received a message inviting them to Chen's Island to participate in the Tournament of Elements. Chen said that he had Zane, which turned out to be true, obviously. But that's the only thing that man was honest about. Because as you probably know already, he tricked us, and unleashed his army of fake-Anacondrai to take over Ninjago."

"Wow," Sam remarked, trying to process the information.

"I know, right? Crazy stuff," Nya said. "But, when we found Zane, he wasn't the same Zane that we had known before. Apparently, he had been rebuilt, and became the Titanium Ninja. He is still the white ninja of ice, but he prefers to call himself the Titanium Ninja, so that he can distinguish between his old self and his new self."

"That's amazing," was all Sam could say as she struggled to take it all in.

Nya smiled. She knew that if she had been relaying this story to any other civilian they may have not believed her. But Sam knew the ninja, and was even living on their ship and had experienced life as a ninja, so telling her about the Overlord and everything was probably not a stretch for her. In fact, Nya was glad to have someone she could share their stories with. It made her feel more normal to have a girl her age she could talk to. And Sam was a nice girl. Sometimes she worried that her brother would get too emotionally-attached to a girl that wasn't the right match for him, and he'd end up being as heartbroken as he had been when Skylor left. Being the fire ninja, he was very passionate, and could easily get caught up in the wrong person. But Nya knew that Sam would never hurt Kai, as it was clear that their feelings were mutual, and that Sam was very much into Kai as he was into her. Secretly, she hoped that maybe, just maybe, Sam was the one for him, and her brother would be able to put the whole Skylor thing behind him, as she had been concerned about him before the blonde showed up. Nonetheless, she knew only time would tell, as Sensei Wu would say. Time would reveal all.


	47. Chapter 47

"Now when you punch, you gotta keep your arm straight," Lloyd instructed.

Once again, Sam had gotten up early to meet Lloyd in the training room before the other ninja woke up. The houseguest had finally graduated from the punching bag to an actual one-on-one combative lesson.

"Your punches will help you with your balance as well as your coordination," Lloyd explained. "It'll also improve your reflexes too. And like I've said before, Spinjitzu uses all three of these components."

The green ninja then smirked at his opponent.

"Now fight me."

Sam glanced at her palms, then back at Lloyd. She understood why Lloyd was teaching her basic fighting skills, but she didn't like the idea of potentially hurting him.

Lloyd could sense her hesitation.

"Don't worry, you won't hurt me. Trust me," he said, as if he had read her mind.

Gathering up her courage, Sam threw a punch at Lloyd, only for the green ninja to move his body slightly to the right so that she missed.

"You gotta move faster," Lloyd said. "If you hesitate, your opponent will be able dodge your attacks."

Sam threw another punch at him, missing the green ninja again.

"Almost," he said. "You can't doubt yourself."

"I'm not doubting myself," Sam said, throwing yet another half-hearted punch at her opponent.

As her fist was about to make contact with his chest, Lloyd grabbed her wrists.

"Yes, you are," he said, looking into her eyes. "You're not gonna learn Spinjitzu if you keep thinking you can't do it. I learned that," the green ninja said, recalling the self-doubt he had had when facing his father way back then.

Sam gazed into his bright green eyes, trying to guess what the green ninja was thinking. She couldn't help but admire the different shades of green swirling in his eyes, and she could see the vulnerability, the honesty, and the kindness that they revealed.

Lloyd soon realized he was still holding onto her wrists, and quickly let go of them.

"Erm, sorry," he said.

The green ninja took a step back, trying to create as much space between them as possible.

"Now, try again," he instructed. "And don't hesitate."

* * *

Cole woke to the faint sound of voices. At first, he didn't think much of it, since he had thought they were a part of his dream, but as consciousness drew him out of his sleeping state, he realized that he was actually hearing things.

The earth ninja's eyes fluttered open, then sat up to assess his surroundings. Nothing was out of the usual. The rest of the ninja were asleep. Jay was hugging his pillow close. Kai's spiky hair was all mussed

up and he was sleeping on his stomach. Zane, as usual, looked peaceful. Except...where was Lloyd?

Cole reluctantly pulled the covers off of him and went to check his brother's bed. No one was there.

The earth ninja frowned, scratching his head in confusion. Where is Lloyd?

Suddenly, he heard voices again. Turning his head slightly, it sounded like the voices were coming from the hall.

Trying not to disturb his teammates, the earth ninja quietly tiptoed out of the room and into the hall. In the hall, he could hear the voices more clearly, and it sounded like a guy's voice. It definitely wasn't Sensei's so it had to be Lloyd's.

Cole followed the voice, which led him to the training room. He peered into the room and saw it was Lloyd and Sam, and it looked like they were battling each other. Wait, Sam was a ninja too?

"Uh, hey guys," Cole said, entering the room.

Lloyd immediately jumped upon hearing the earth ninja's voice, then turned his head to face his brother.

"Um, hey Cole," he said, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"What're you guys doing?" he asked, glancing at Sam, then back at Lloyd.

Lloyd and Sam exchanged nervous looks, neither knowing what to say.

She sighed. "Lloyd was teaching me Spinjitzu," she admitted. "I wanted to impress Kai, so I thought I'd learn Spinjitzu to surprise him."

Cole raised a brow. "You were gonna surprise him?"

Sam nodded.

"We kept it on the down low so no one would find out before she was ready," the green ninja explained.

The earth ninja nodded, processing what he'd just been told, but was silent.

"Please don't tell Kai," Lloyd pleaded.

Cole studied his brother for a moment before speaking.

"Don't worry champ, your secret's safe with me," he said.

Sam could hear the green ninja breathe a sigh of relief.

"It's just that...I'm pretty good at Spinjitzu," he added, flexing his biceps. "You should've come to me," he teased.

Lloyd and Sam both chuckled. "So, we're cool then?" the green ninja asked his teammate.

Cole nodded. "Yeah, and I promise I won't tell Kai, or the others."

Lloyd smiled. "Thanks, buddy." He didn't even want to think about it if it had been Jay who had found out about their training sessions. Out of the rest of ninja, he guessed he was glad it was Cole.

* * *

Breakfast time was interesting, at least for Lloyd and Sam.

Cole tried his best to hide the fact that he was in on their little secret, but the earth ninja couldn't help but cast knowing glances across the table at Lloyd and their houseguest. The looks were subtle, but definitely did not go unnoticed by Sam or Lloyd.

An uncomfortable silence hung over the three while Kai, Zane, Jay, and Nya were completely oblivious as to what had transpired earlier that morning.

"These cinnamon rolls are really good, Zane," Jay said, taking another bite of the sweet pastry.

"Thank you, Jay," the nindroid replied. "I appreciate the compliment."

Silence washed over the group once more until Kai spoke.

"Hey Sam," he said, turning to his girlfriend. "I was wondering if you were interested in going to dinner this weekend. There's this fancy restaurant downtown and I was wondering if you wanted to go."

"Ooo, hear that guys? Kai's making a move," Cole teased, taking another bite of his cereal.

The red ninja frowned at his brother, but didn't bother to correct him.

Sam felt all of the ninjas' eyes on her, waiting for her to answer.

"Sure," she smiled. "That sounds like fun."

"She said yes, folks. She said yes," Jay announced as if he were the commentator of a sports game.

The rest of the ninja chuckled, except for Lloyd, who did not appear to be amused.

"Great," Kai said, the enthusiasm shining in his eyes. "I'll make the reservations then. How does Friday sound?"

"Friday sounds good," Sam answered.

"Cool." Little did she know that the red ninja was cheering on the inside.

"So when's Brooke coming?" Cole interjected. Unlike Kai, the earth ninja wasn't subtle about his feelings.

"Well, I talked to her Monday," Sam explained. "And she said her parents were thinking of coming to Ninjago City some weekend as a quick getaway, so it is a possibility."

"She has smart parents," the earth ninja remarked, waving his fork for emphasis.

The other ninja exchanged amused looks at the earth ninja's bluntness, knowing that he'd probably do just about anything to persuade Brooke's family to stay in the city for the weekend, maybe even longer if he could.

On that note, Lloyd stood up.

"I'm going to go freshen up before training starts," he said. The green ninja dutifully set his dirty plate near the sink, then passed by the table.

"Have a good day at work, Sam," he said, turning to leave the the room.

"Thanks, Lloyd," Sam said, slightly surprised by the remark.

When the green ninja was out of earshot, the rest of the ninja exchanged confused looks.

"Is it just me, or has Lloyd been talking more?" Jay asked, glancing in the direction the green ninja had left.

Zane nodded. "I agree. He has been more talkative lately, despite nothing changing."

"Maybe he's finally getting over the loss of his father," Cole suggested. "The kid took it pretty hard."

"I hope so," Kai added. "It's time for all of us to move on."

While he cared about Lloyd, he didn't think he should be drowning in his sorrows anymore. He himself had been sad after Garmadon had left too, but he had learned to accept it and move forward. Besides, he had other things to worry about-more pressing matters-like what he was going to wear on Friday.


	48. Chapter 48

**Hey guys, I'm back! And thank you so much to ALookIntoMyWorld for posting some very nice reviews! I'm so glad you all like my story! These days, it's hard to find time to write and post, but all your reviews truly keep me motivated and willing to continue the story, so I greatly appreciate all your nice feedback. As usual, don't forget to R &amp; R!**

Kai woke to the intense rays of the morning sun streaming in through the window of the ninjas' bedroom.

Friday.

Realizing what day it was, the red ninja abruptly sat up, remembering that he still had to prepare for their night out later. He and Sam hadn't spent quality one-on-one time together since before she had moved in on the Bounty, so he wanted to make the evening extra special.

After his hours of pondering, the red ninja still hadn't decided what he was going to wear. Unlike the other ninja, he didn't have any semi-formal wear. He supposed he could wear the suit and tie he wore as a teacher back in the day, but he figured that it might be too fussy and business-like for a simple night out at a somewhat fancy restaurant.

Once again, he considered asking Jay for advice. He would never admit it, but Jay had good style, and no doubt he had taken Nya out before. Not to mention that his earlier advice had worked, since his date with Sam at the movies had been successful. His mind was made up. He would confide in the blue ninja after breakfast.

* * *

Sam woke to the bright rays of morning summer sun and smiled. Summer was her favorite time of year, as the world seemed to come alive, and it always seemed to hold endless possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities, she was going out with Kai tonight. Her heart fluttered at the thought. She wasn't used to going to mildly fancy places for dinner, but with Kai she would gladly go. It had been really sweet of him to set up the date in the first place. With thoughts of work, training, Lloyd, and all the other extra things swimming in her head, she was eager to get out and leave her troubles for the evening.

She glanced at the brand new dress she had bought on Tuesday hanging proudly in her closet. She decided that if there was any occasion to wear such a dress, it would be tonight. It wasn't too formal, yet it still looked nice. She was glad that Nya had picked it out for her. Like the samurai had said, she secretly hoped that Kai would like it too.

* * *

"Good job, Zane," Sensei said as he praised the white ninja for defeating Cole in their battle.

Zane bowed respectfully. "Thank you Sensei," he said, then went to sit down on the deck next to Kai, Jay, and Lloyd, who were smirking at the sight of the earth ninja lying on the ground. He was clearly irritated about losing.

As Zane sat down, Sensei looked at the green ninja and nodded. "Lloyd, you are up next," he said. Lloyd nodded in response, then proceeded to stand up and walk over to Cole and Sensei, a small smirk plastered on his face.

"Go get 'em, Lloyd," Jay cheered. "Cole's easy to beat, no problem."

"Hey, it was no picnic for you, Motormouth," the earth ninja called back, referring to the time Lloyd had defeated Jay. "This kid's getting stronger."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that," the blue ninja teased.

Cole shot his teammate one last glare before Sensei spoke.

"On your marks. Get set. Fight," the martial arts teacher said, waving his hand to indicate the battle had started.

As the battle ensued, Kai took the opportunity to ask Jay for assistance.

"Hey Jay," the red ninja said, nudging his brother. "I was wondering if you could help me get ready for my date with Sam tonight."

The blue ninja raised a brow. "You want my help?" he repeated.

Kai nodded. "Yeah, the date went so well the last time, I was hoping you could help me out again."

Jay gave his brother a cheeky grin. "You really wanna impress her, don't you, Kai?"

The red ninja sighed in exasperation. He should've known Jay would try to pull his leg. "Can you help me or not?" Kai demanded, knowing that it was quite obvious that he wanted to impress his girlfriend.

"Of course I'll help," the blue ninja scoffed. "I got you two lovebirds together, and I'm gonna get you to stay together."

Kai rolled his eyes, but didn't correct him. He did want Jay's help, after all. "Okay, meet me in the room after training," he said.

Jay nodded, showing he understood the plan. "Got it."

* * *

"Alright, remember what I told you last time," Jay said as he and Kai stood in front of the ninjas' closet. "Dress nicely, be polite, use good table manners since you're going to a fancy restaurant, and don't do anything stupid like light the place on fire. That's kind of a downer on a date."

Kai rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't set anything on fire, Jay," he said.

"Speaking of dressing nicely," the blue ninja rambled on, "what are you going to wear tonight, Kai?" he said, turning to his brother.

Kai shrugged, flashing his teammate a sheepish look. "Honestly, I have no idea."

"Kai!" Jay scolded. "After the last time, you didn't think to go out and buy a shirt?"

"Nope."

The blue ninja sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, so you can just borrow Cole's shirt again."

Still, the red ninja looked uncertain. "Shouldn't I run that by him first?"

Jay shook his head. "Nah, he'll never wear that shirt again, trust me. Unless he gets a date, and we all know that's never going to happen."

Kai shrugged. "Okay, but don't you think she's gonna think I'm weird if I keep wearing the same shirt all the time?"

"By all the time, you mean twice, than no. Trust me, it's better than sweat pants," Jay answered.

"Fine."

* * *

After her internship, Sam hurried home to get ready for her date with Kai. The red ninja had made reservations for dinner at 7, so they had to leave around 6:30 if they wanted to be there on time, meaning she had about two hours to get ready. When she returned to the Bounty, she raced to her room and hopped into the shower, letting the water wash away any negative feelings she could potentially experience, then proceeded to get changed and put on some makeup.

When she finished, she admired her appearance in Nya's full-length mirror, letting the dress swish around a couple times as she ran through her mental checklist. Knowing she had completed everything, she took a deep breath, then headed to the living room to meet Kai.

* * *

"Are you sure I look okay?" Kai asked Jay as they stepped into the empty living room.

"Kai, you look fantastic, stop doubting yourself. And remember, it's not important how you look, it's important how she looks. Remember to compliment her on her appearance," Jay instructed as if he was talking to a small child.

The red ninja nodded. "Got it."

"Lookin' good, Kai," a voice said. The boys turned their heads to see Cole and Lloyd enter the living room, sweat dripping from their forehead.

"What have you guys been up to?" Jay asked.

"Training," Cole answered. "I was upset about losing against Zane earlier because of that silly mistake I made, so I asked Green Machine here to help me with my technique."

"You giving lessons now, Lloyd?" Jay joked, turning to the green ninja. "You should start asking for a fee."

Lloyd chuckled. "You could say that."

Before Jay could ask what that meant, the ninja saw a made-up Sam enter the room. Instantly, the room fell silent.

Cole whistled. "Wow," was all the earth ninja could say as the ninja took in her appearance.

Sam blushed as the ninja took a second to admire her, especially Kai, who could only stare at the blonde stupidly.

After the rest of the ninjas had recovered from their initial reaction, Jay noticed Kai had his mouth hanging open, clearly lost in the sight of his girlfriend. The blue ninja gave his teammate a nudge.

Breaking free from his trace, Kai turned to his brother, who flicked his eyes in Sam's direction to remind him about what he had said earlier.

"Oh," Kai said, clearly getting the message. He took a step in his girlfriend's direction, clearing his throat before he spoke. "You look great," he said, meaning every word.

Sam's felt cheeks burn as she glanced down at the floor. Needless to say she liked the attention, but it was bit overwhelming for her to be put on the spot as she was. "Thanks," she said. "You look nice too."

It was true. Kai looked pretty spiffy in his black shirt and dark wash jeans. "He does," Cole agreed. "Except…are you wearing my shirt again?" he asked, eyeing the piece of clothing that seemed so familiar to him.

Now it was Kai's turn to feel embarrassed. "Maybe," he said, giving his brother a sheepish look.

The earth ninja frowned, but his mouth quickly into a smile as it was hard for him to hide his amusement.

"You really need your own shirt, Kai," he laughed. "Although, it doesn't look half-bad on you."

"I agree," Zane said, entering the room. He was holding a book of some sort, which the ninja guessed meant that he had been reading somewhere.

"There you are, Zane. Where have you been?" Cole asked.

"I was looking at some of Sensei's old books, and I found one of them to be especially interesting," the white ninja said, holding a book titled Ancient Myths of Ninjago. His attention then turned to Kai and Sam, who were both wearing semi-formal attire. "You look lovely, Sam," he said, nodding in approval. "You both look very nice."

"Thank you, Zane," Sam said, accepting the compliment.

As Sam's attention was focused on Zane, the red ninja snuck a glance at the blonde. She truly did look nice. He admired the way the dress swished around her legs as she moved, and how the dress overall seemed to compliment her features.

While admiring her, Sam turned to look at him, catching his gaze. Forcing himself not to look away out of embarrassment, he smiled at his girlfriend.

"Shall we go then?" he asked, extending a hand out to her

Sam returned the smile, and took her hand in his. "Yeah."

As the couple turned to leave, the other ninja called after them.

"Enjoy your evening," Zane said. He had to admit that Kai seemed a lot happier than he had in a while.

"Have fun!" Jay shouted. "My little Kai is growing up," he added, pretending to sniff as if he were seeing his own kid off.

"Don't do anything wouldn't do," Cole teased, knowing he wouldn't get a response from the red ninja.

However, Lloyd was silent. Because the ninjas' attention had been focused elsewhere, everyone had failed to take notice that Lloyd had been staring at Sam the entire time. The other ninja were right—she did look lovely, and the green ninja couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards his older brother. Kai got to do all the fun date stuff with Sam, but here, he was doing all the hard work, training her and serving as her mentor. He should get some credit, right? The others couldn't know about it, but still. Maybe he hadn't been willing to admit this to himself—heck, he didn't even understand his thoughts half the time—but he could no longer deny the fact that, maybe, just maybe, he had feelings for Sam.


	49. Chapter 49

**Hey guys, sorry it's been so long! Hope this chapter is well worth the wait. :) I'll try to have the next chapter up in a week or so, but I can't make any promises! Enjoy! And thank you to all those who have been reading my story! All your support is much appreciated!**

"So have you ever been to this restaurant before?" Sam asked as she and Kai walked into Mama Li's Italian Restaurant in downtown Ninjago.

"Nope, but I heard it's really nice," Kai answered.

They entered the restaurant, and were immediately taken aback by the décor. It was a very open space, with large, fancy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Further inside they could see several rounded tables covered with red tablecloths, with burning candles in the center. Antique paintings and other Italian-themed art filled the walls, contributing to the restaurant's classy atmosphere.

"Wow," was all Sam could say.

Kai took a moment to take in his surroundings before they casually made their way to the hostess station where a cheerful-looking hostess greeted them. "Hi, welcome to Mama Li's. How may I help you this evening?" she asked, a friendly smile plastered on her face.

The red ninja cleared his throat before answering. "Um, I made reservations earlier this week," he said. "Under Smith. Kai Smith."

"Smith," the hostess repeated, glancing down at the restaurant's book of reservations, scanning the list of names. "Ah, here you are." The hostess wrote something down in the book before looking back up at the couple. "Let me show you to your table then," she said.

Kai and Sam followed the hostess to a table near the back of the restaurant, against the left wall of the dining room. After they each took their seat, the hostess smiled. "Enjoy your meal," she said, leaving the couple alone for a few minutes.

Sam nervously fidgeted with her hands, which were currently in her lap. Neither of them had much experience with formal dining, so Sam couldn't help but feel a little out of her element.

"So…?" Kai finally said after a minute of silence. He clearly felt awkward as well.

"So..." Sam repeated. "…how was training this week?"

The red ninja's face immediately lit up. "Good, good," he said, glad they had something to talk about. "As you know, Cole was kinda bummed about losing against Zane, but he got over it. And you should also know that I defeated Jay," he declared proudly.

Sam smiled. Kai did have kind of an ego but she found it strangely endearing.

"So how was work?" he asked, not wanting to seem completely self-absorbed.

"It was good," Sam said. "We got a lot of work done. Mr. Borg was very happy with us."

"Bet you did most of it," Kai said, reaching for his glass of water. "Everyone would've probably just slacked off if you weren't there."

It was true that Sam tended to take more of a leadership position at Borg Industries, mainly because she enjoyed what she was doing so much.

"I guess you could say that," she answered. "But I try to do what's best for the company, since I am probably going to be working there someday."

Kai paused, the glass of water suspended in midair.

"You've already decided what you're going to do?" he asked, almost in disbelief. Being a ninja, he hadn't really thought about what he was going to do with the rest of his life, but it sounded like Sam had everything figured out.

The surprise in the red ninja's voice made Sam blush a bit.

"Yeah, I already enjoy interning there, and Mr. Borg is really nice," she said. "I could see myself working there after college."

"Wow," Kai breathed. "Sounds like you got it all figured it out."

Honestly, Sam wasn't sure why working out Borg Industries was such a big deal to him, but didn't comment.

"What were you planning on doing?" she asked. Deep down, she was curious as to what the red ninja saw in his future.

"Who? Me?" Kai asked, slightly caught off guard by her question. "Uh, well, I…don't really know exactly," he said. "Before I became a ninja, I was a blacksmith. Not a good blacksmith" he joked, earning a chuckle from Sam, "but still a blacksmith. I wanted to become the best in the business, even better than my own father."

"Was your father a good blacksmith?" Sam asked. It was a dumb question, but she wanted to keep the conversation moving.

"The best," Kai said, silently replaying memories of his father in his head. "I wanted to be better than him because I felt like that was only way I could redeem myself. I wanted to feel important, like I had a purpose, you know? After he died, I just felt lost. Thankfully I had Nya to watch over me," he explained.

As Sam listened to Kai, she couldn't help but feel empathy towards the red ninja. It sounded like he had been going through a rough period before he had met the rest of the ninja. She was tempted to ask what had happened to his parents but decided against it, since it undoubtedly was hard for him to talk about. If she was meant to find out, she would in time.

"Let's talk about something else," Kai suggested, partly because the topic was heavy, but he also didn't want to bore her with his "woe is me" type of stories. That could definitely put a damper on the date.

His hand stretched across the table to intertwine with hers.

"You look beautiful," he said, gazing into her soft blue eyes. "I mean, you always look beautiful but tonight you look especially beautiful." The fire dancing in the red ninja's warm brown eyes told her that he meant it very much so.

Sam felt the heat in her cheeks rise at the compliment, and she became much more aware of the strong, yet gentle grip the red ninja had as his fingers were interlaced with hers.

Before she could answer, she saw a man who no doubt was to be their waiter approach the table, and Kai's hand reluctantly pulled away in order to give his full and undivided attention to the waiter.

"Good evening, my name is Dudley, and I will be your waiter for this evening," the waiter said, flashing the couple a friendly smile. The man looked to be about his late twenties, early thirties, with short, dark hair and a rather slim build. "Would you like to start off with drinks?" he asked.

Kai was about to open his mouth to answer but the waiter beat him to it.

"Would you like to try our specialty red wine? We have full red wines, medium red wines, and light red wines. We also have other types of wine: white wine, dessert wine, and sparkling wine."

Sam and Kai exchanged uncertain glances. Obviously, he couldn't tell they were underage.

"Actually," Kai said. "I'm only 20 years old. And she's 19."

Dudley studied the couple for a moment before realizing his mistake. "I apologize," he said. "Usually we don't have such young couples dining here."

Kai waved the waiter's apology aside. "Don't worry about it. I'll just have soda. What about you, Sam?" the red ninja asked, turning to his girlfriend.

"I'll have soda too," Sam said. Little did Kai know what the waiter had said struck Sam with a certain amount of interest. How was the red ninja able to afford to dine in a place like this? It wasn't the fanciest restaurant around, but it certainly wasn't the cheapest. She assumed maybe it was the money they had earned saving the city, but from what the ninja had described, it sounded as though they didn't get reward money often.

"Very good. I will return with your drinks," the waiter declared, then disappeared into the kitchen.

"Well, that was interesting," Kai muttered under his breath, glancing at his girlfriend. Sam nodded in agreement.

Shortly after, Dudley returned with two large glasses of the carbonated beverages and placed them on the table. "There you are," he said. "Now, are you ready to order yet?"

Sam glanced at Kai, who shook his head. "We may need a few more minutes," he told the waiter.

"Very well," Dudley said. "I shall check on you in a few minutes." And with that, he disappeared once more.

Kai picked up the menu and began to scan the list of items. "I don't recognize any of these," he said. "Antipasto, Torta Rustica, Focaccia, Zupa Toscana, Bruschetta—I don't know what any of these are. Do you?" he asked, looking up from the menu.

"No, not at all," Sam answered, a faint smile on her face.

Kai chuckled, sharing her amusement. "Maybe I should've done my research," he joked. "Cole would never let me hear the end of it, since he is Italian after all."

Sam's eyes widened. "Really? 'Cause Brooke told me that she's Italian too, I think," she remarked, recalling a former conversation she had had a few months earlier with her roommate.

"Really?" Kai chuckled, imagining Cole's reaction to this new piece of information regarding the attractive brunette. "Guess it's a match made in heaven then," he said. "Just like us."


	50. Chapter 50

**Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to post this. I've been super busy lately. Hope you all are still enjoying the story! And as always, don't forget to R &amp; R! :D**

"Ah, that was a good meal," Kai said, patting his stomach as he slumped in his seat. "I'm stuffed."

"Same," Sam said, who subconsciously put a hand on her own stomach as well, indicating that she was full.

The couple had both opted for spaghetti, since it seemed to be the only thing that they recognized on the menu. Plus, they both enjoyed pasta to some degree.

Shortly after they had finished their meal, Dudley returned, carting a tray of desserts.

"I see you enjoyed your meal," he said, nodding approvingly at the clean plates that had been cast aside by the couple. "May I interest you in dessert?" the waiter asked politely.

Kai and Sam glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Actually-" Kai began.

"Let me tell you about our desserts," Dudley said, cutting the red ninja off completely. "The first dessert we have is Dobos Torte," he said, motioning to the dessert to the left. "It is a cake with buttercream filling, and is very delicious."

"I bet it is, but-"

"The second dessert is Serano chocolate cake, with a light chocolate frosting and a dark chocolate middle, topped with whipped cream. It is very delicious," Dudley, paying no attention to the red ninja.

Sam's mouth watered seeing the cake, but knew she would burst if she had another bite of food.

"And the the last dessert is flambeed vanilla poached pears with apricot sauce," the waiter explained, pointing to the third dish. "It is very, very delicious."

However, the last one didn't sound the least bit appealing to Sam or Kai. "Thanks, Dudley, but we're really full," the red ninja said, trying to be polite about it. "Maybe we'll try it some other time."

"Are you sure? They're all very delicious," Dudley encouraged.

Kai and Sam exchanged uncertain, yet half-amused glances. The guy must've said the word delicious at least four times already.

"Yeah, we're sure," Sam said. "We're very full."

The waiter sighed. "Oh, alright," he said, slouching his shoulders in defeat. "I hope your meal was delicious."

Kai glanced at Sam, who stifled her laughter at the goofy look the red ninja was giving her. Thankfully, it went unnoticed by Dudley.

"Here is your bill," the waiter said, handing a credit card book to the red ninja. "I will be back shortly to pick up the bill." Dudley gave the couple a quick bow of his head before he turned to leave.

Once the waiter was out of sight, Sam and Kai were able to release the fits of laughter that they had been holding in.

Sam wiped a tear from her eye. The couple wasn't able to pinpoint exactly why it was so funny, but the lack of adjectives the waiter used to describe food was really amusing.

"Wondered what we were getting ourselves into when he first showed up," Kai joked as he reached for his wallet. After fishing his wallet out of his pocket, the red ninja opened the credit card book and began to put some money into the fold of the book. "There. That should do it," he said, putting an extra five into the book. "Extra tip for Dudley."

Sam smiled. It was really nice of Kai to pay for her again, especially at such a fancy place. And giving the waiter an extra tip. Talk about generous.

Kai closed the credit card book and glanced up at his girlfriend, sharing her smile. He couldn't explain it, but when he saw her smile, it made him happy.

Pretty soon, as he had promised he would, Dudley returned. "You all set?" he asked as Kai handed him the credit card book.

"Yep," the red ninja answered. "I'm just paying with cash, so there's no credit card."

Dudley nodded in understanding. "Very well. In that case, I hope you both have a good evening," he said, smiling at the couple one last time before he disappeared into the restaurant.

"Alright then," Kai said, looking at Sam, "shall we go then?" He quickly stood up, and went to the other side of the table and helped Sam up from her seat. "This was fun," the red ninja said, protectively placing his hand on her back as they headed towards the exit.

Sam felt herself blush at the contact. "Yeah," she agreed.

Just like their first date, the weather was nice. It was a warm, clear evening, with the moon shining brightly overhead. Kai couldn't have asked for better weather.

Stepping outside, the red ninja's hand intertwined with Sam's as they started to make their way back to the Bounty.

"That was fun," he said, not knowing what else to say.

"It was," Sam nodded in agreement. "You make everything fun, Kai."

Kai felt himself blush at the sincerity in her voice. "I know I do," he winked, attempting to hide his bashfulness from her. He was glad that it was nighttime, in case the embarrassment was displayed across his cheeks.

The couple walked in silence down the block, enjoying the pleasant weather as well as each other's company.

As they walked, Sam's mind wandered. She recalled the conversation she had had with Nya earlier that week about Zane and the Tournament of Elements. The ninja thought they had lost Zane, but somehow he had ended up on Chen's Island to lure them to participate in the Tournament of Elements, not that she knew what that was, but she was curious as to how Zane had gotten there in the first place. Not that it was any of her business, but from the way Nya had reacted, it didn't sound like it was a painful topic to discuss.

"Kai?" she asked.

The red ninja, who had obviously had his head in clouds, turned to look at her.

"Hmm?" he asked, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"...When Nya and I went out earlier this week, she told me how you guys got Zane back in something called the Tournament of Elements. What was that, and how did he end up there in the first place?"

"Huh?" the red ninja uttered, slightly taken aback by her question. He took a moment to process what she was saying before he answered. "...Well, the Tournament was a made-up thing that Chen created to lure us to the island. We did compete in a couple of battles before we realized that it was a trap. Chen captured us, then used our powers to turn him and his army into Anacondrai," he explained. "As for Zane, we have no idea how he ended up there."

He was careful not to bring up Skylor, and how she practically handed him over to Chen when he found out that the two were related.

Sam nodded in understanding. "So does that mean there are other people who have powers like you guys do?"

Kai nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Sensei never told us that there were others that had elemental powers. Garmadon said that he was trying to protect us." He paused. "I guess he thought that we'd work harder if we believed that we were the only ones with powers."

"Wow," Sam breathed. "That's amazing."

However, Kai didn't hear her. Instead, his attention was focused on a female across the street, who was sporting a high ponytail. Her back was turned to him, but under the street light, he could tell the color of her hair was a brilliant shade of red, a shade that was all-too-familiar to him. His heart fluttered, wondering if it was really her. He hadn't seen her in months, yet there she was, right across the street.

Sam noticed the red ninja's pace slow, almost to a complete stop. She glanced up at him to see that his eyes were focused on something across the street.

"Kai?" she asked, thinking his behavior was a bit odd.

Kai didn't answer, as he was too busy watching the girl as she went into one of the shops, her red ponytail swaying gracefully behind her. It had to be her. But since he only saw her from behind, he still couldn't be sure.

"What are you looking at?" Sam asked again, perplexed by the red ninja's intent staring at something across the street.

Luckily, Sam's voice brought the red ninja back down to earth. "Huh?" he asked, still flustered from seeing the mysterious red-haired girl.

Kai then realized that his girlfriend was speaking to him. "Oh, it was nothing," he lied. "Just had something in my eye." The red ninja rubbed his eye for emphasis.

Sam tilted her head curiously, still puzzled by his behavior, but did not question him farther.

As they continued their walk back to the Bounty, Kai snuck one final look at the store the girl had just walked into, but the redhead was no longer in sight.

Thoughts of Skylor began to buzz around in his head. If it indeed was Skylor, then she obviously was hanging around in Ninjago City for some reason. Was she still running her father's noodle business? Was she staying for some other reason? Did she ever think about him? All of sudden, his mind was plagued with thoughts of his former love interest, after seeing just one girl that may or may not have been her. It looked a lot like her though. But what did he know?

He would've liked to think that Skylor was around, yet at the same time, it further complicated his relationship with Sam. He had something good with her, but something just drew him to Skylor, like a moth to a flame.

So while Kai's hand remained in Sam's, his thoughts remained faithful to Skylor for the rest of the evening.

**Ooo, drama! Haha, anyways, I wanted to add that Shadow of Ronin either has not happened or does not exist, so the ninja do not know exactly how Zane ended up on Chen's Island. **


	51. Chapter 51

**Hey guys, sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! :D**

Kai stared up at the ceiling of the ninjas' bedroom, struggling to fall asleep as images of Skylor consumed his thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see her: her long, fiery red hair flowing in the breeze, her hypnotic green eyes gazing intently at him as if she were right beside him. Yet, it wasn't just Skylor that was bothering him.

It was Sam.

He couldn't help but feel guilty thinking about Skylor while he was pursuing the blonde. It was true that Skylor and him actually had history, and he was just getting to know Sam. But unlike Skylor, Kai knew how Sam felt about him.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder if he ever crossed the redhead's mind from time to time. Deep down, he secretly wished he did.

The red ninja shut his eyes, desperately wanting to find peace in the midst of confusion known as his love life. He felt torn, torn between two different lives-his ninja life with Skylor and his civilian life with Sam.

He knew he wouldn't be able to get sleep if he couldn't come up with a temporary fix to his little dilemma. Therefore, the red ninja decided to confide in the one person he was sure would give him good advice, besides his sensei that is.

"Jay? Jay!" Kai whispered softly, hoping to awaken his brother.

"Huh?" the blue ninja immediately sat upright, hearing his name being called. "I'm up, Sensei." The blue ninja looked around the room and saw that Kai was watching him. Realizing that it was merely his teammate trying to get his attention, Jay chuckled.

"Oh, it's just you," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eye.

As usual, Kai went straight to the point. "Jay, I need to talk to you about something."

The blue ninja glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost one in the morning. "Aw, can't it wait 'till tomorrow?" he asked, yawning.

Kai shook his head. "No, it can't. Please Jay, it's important," he pleaded.

Jay sighed, noting the concern in his brother's eyes. "Oh, alright. What is it?" he asked.

The red ninja took a deep breath before answering. "Okay, so when me and Sam went out tonight, as we were leaving the restaurant, I swear to you that I saw Skylor."

The mention of Kai's former lover made Jay's eye widen.

"You saw Skylor?" he repeated. "Are you sure? I mean, we haven't seen her since we defeated Chen."

"I know," Kai said. "But as we were walking back, I saw a girl with red hair going into one of the stores-hair that looked just like hers."

"Lots of girls have red hair, Kai," the blue ninja remarked. "How do you know it was her?"

"I don't know, I just thought it was her," Kai said. "But that's not what I'm worried about."

Jay tilted his head curiously. "Let me get this straight. You were with Sam, and you saw someone who may or may not have been Skylor, then you came back to the Bounty."

Wow. Being the jokester of the group, Jay certainly had a way of making him feel silly.

"Yeah..."

"Then I don't get it. What's the problem?"

"The problem is, I think I'm still in love with Skylor," Kai blurted out, his emotions getting the better him. As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted it.

Like an a thousand-ton weight had been dropped, an uncomfortable silence fell across the room.

"Jay?" Kai asked. His brother's silence was making him nervous. Jay was never this quiet. Ever.

"Kai," the blue ninja began. "You haven't talked to Skylor in months."

"I know, I know-"

"And now you're saying that you're considering giving up what you and Sam have just because you thought you saw her?"

"I never said that-"

"Look Kai, I see it in your eyes when you and Sam are together. You've never been happier. And I can tell she really likes you too."

The red ninja's widened in surprise. "She does?"

"Of course she does," Jay said matter-of-factly, as if it was the silliest question he had ever heard. "And just because Skylor's back, supposedly, you're gonna throw all that away?"

"It's not that simple, Jay," Kai answered. "I really like Sam, but me and Skylor-"

"I know you were crazy about her," the blue ninja interrupted, recalling how gaga his teammate had been over ninja of amber. "But don't you think it's time to move on? Sam's a nice girl, Kai. You can't have both of them."

"I know, Jay," Kai sighed. "It's just not that easy."

The blue ninja gave his brother a sympathetic smile. "I know. Please think about it, though. You don't wanna do something you'll regret."

Kai nodded. "I promise."

"Good. Now it's time for us to get some shut eye," Jay declared, pulling the blanket over himself once more. "You're really grouchy when you don't get enough sleep."

The red ninja rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Jay." (Although he believed it was the other way around.) He then yawned. Maybe it was best if he left his troubles for the morning.

"'Night, Kai."

"Goodnight, Jay."

No more words were exchanged between the two friends as they each drifted off into dreamland.

Little did they know that from underneath the bunks, a certain green ninja, awakened by the chatter, had been listening the entire time.


	52. Chapter 52

Bacon sizzled in the skillet as the ninja sat down to breakfast. Zane had just finished making pancakes, and as always, the ninja were eager to dive in.

Sam and Nya had bothered to get up as well to spend some time with the ninja. Sam especially wanted to tell Kai that she had had a great time last night. They barely said a word after they had returned to the Bounty, and Kai had immediately gone to bed. She assumed that he had just been tired from his long week of training, but she had to admit that his behavior after leaving the restaurant had been a bit odd.

As usual, Sam sat next to Kai, who was busy devouring his pancakes, as were the rest of the ninja.

In between bites of his breakfast, Lloyd kept glancing at Sam and Kai, recalling the conversation that Jay and the red ninja had had last night. Was Kai really still hung up on Skylor? Here, the guy already had a pretty girlfriend, yet he was still fawning over someone that was no longer a part of his life. Needless to say, it was slightly irritating to the green ninja.

"Hey guys," Cole said, breaking the silence. "I was thinking that maybe we should all do something together sometime. I mean, we're always doing our own thing, and I thought it'd be nice to spend the weekend together as a team. Plus two," he added, motioning towards Sam and Nya.

"Aw, I can't today," Jay said. "Me and Nya have to replace the computer screens in the control room."

Nya nodded. "Yeah, working on all those upgrades, I totally forgot that the screens needed to be updated. It was only a matter of time before they stopped working."

Cole turned to Zane. "What about you, buddy?"

"Sure, I wouldn't mind doing something different today," Zane said, standing up to check on the bacon. "And it looks like the bacon is ready."

Mouths watering, Zane set the plate of bacon down on the table, which was practically attacked by the rest of the ninja.

"What about you, Lloyd? You in?" Cole asked, his mouth full of bacon.

Lloyd shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, Cole, but I think I'm gonna lay low today," the green ninja said politely. Truth was, he was looking forward to playing his video game.

The earth ninja then glanced at his red-clad teammate. "Kai?" he asked, noticing his brother hadn't said a word since he had come to the table.

Kai shook his head. "Nah, I'm not really in the mood today," he said before turning his attention back to his meal.

Cole shrugged, then looked at Zane. "Guess it's just you and me then," he said.

From across the table, Jay eyed his brother worriedly. He knew that Kai was probably thinking over their conversation from last night. He wondered if the red ninja had come to terms with moving on from Skylor yet, or if he still having second thoughts.

Sam stayed silent during the meal, noticing that Kai wasn't very talkative. She was slightly worried that she had done something last night that made him quiet, but he had talked to her after they had left the restaurant so that couldn't have been it. He might've just been tired. She decided that maybe she'd see how he was later, and then she'd ask if he was okay. It was probably best to give him some space.

After breakfast, Sam returned to her room, organizing and doing whatever else she could to keep busy while the others were out. She wondered where Kai had gone off too, as Zane and Cole were gone, and Nya and Jay were in the control room. But like she had considered before, maybe the red ninja needed some time alone. She couldn't help think that his behavior was odd though, as he usually wanted to do something on Saturday.

It was about one o' clock when Sam emerged from her room, hoping to find some lunch.

When she walked into the living area, she found Lloyd, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor playing video games. He was staring intently at the screen, biting his lip in concentration.

She hadn't spoken with Lloyd since Thursday, so they hadn't really arranged to train earlier this morning. But maybe that had been for the better, since she wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Kai was being inconspicuous, and lately their training sessions had been, well, kind of awkward. Especially the last time, when she was practicing fighting techniques with the green ninja, she swore she had felt her heart skip a beat when Lloyd had caught her wrists. Seriously, what was happening?

"Hey, Sam," the green ninja said, causing her to jump. He had noticed her walk into the room out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh, hey Lloyd," she answered. She looked around. "Do you know where Kai is?"

"Nope, haven't seen him," he replied, his eyes still glued to the green. "Haven't seen him since this morning."

Deep down, he felt kind of sorry for Sam, as he assumed that Kai was either trying to avoid her or had doubt that he wanted to further pursue a relationship with her, since Skylor had magically shown up again for whatever reason.

"Oh," Sam said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"You're welcome to join me though," Lloyd said. He didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend time with her. If Kai wasn't going to hang out with her, then he surely would.

Sam thought for moment, considering his offer.

"Sure," she finally said, taking a seat next to him. If Kai wasn't around, she might as well, as it was getting kind of lonely being in her room.

The ninja's eyes lit up. "Great," he said. "You can help me defeat the boss," he said, handing her a controller.

Sam smiled, feeling a warmth spread throughout her cheeks at the close proximity between her and the green ninja. This time, he wasn't her mentor, but merely her friend, who she was glad to spend time with.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

**So things are heating up between Sam and Lloyd...possibly. Lol. I wonder what Kai will think of all this? Will he care? Will he even notice? Stay tuned to find out. And as always, don't forget to R &amp; R! :)**


	53. Chapter 53

"We did good today, Nya," Jay said, wiping his hands free of the imaginary dirt he had acquired throughout the day. "Three screens done, now we have two more to go."

The female samurai laughed. "Everything's faster when you have someone helping you out," said, winking at the blue ninja.

Jay couldn't help but blush. Even after knowing her for several years now, just looking at the raven-haired girl made him get all tongue-tied.

When the couple entered the living area, the first thing they noticed was Lloyd and Sam sitting on the floor, playing video games.

"Hey guys," Nya said, looking around the room. There was no sign of Kai.

"Hey Nya. Hey Jay," Lloyd said, turning around to greet his friends.

"Where's Kai?" the samurai asked. She found it odd that her brother was more than ten feet away from Sam on his day off.

The green ninja shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't seen him since breakfast."

Jay and Nya exchanged confused looks, although the blue ninja had more insight into the situation than Nya did. First of all, Jay knew that Kai was still brooding over his feelings for Skylor, meaning that he was probably quieter than usual. But keeping his distance from Sam? That was not a good sign.

"Eh, he's probably just busy," the blue ninja said, trying to sound as casual as possible. While he felt bad for Sam, he knew that whatever was going on had to stay between her and Kai. If his brother was questioning his feelings for her, then he certainly wouldn't be the one to tell her.

Jay cleared his throat nervously. "So, uh, what have you guys been up to?" he asked, scratching his head.

"I invited Sam to play video games with me," Lloyd said. "Since she really had nothing else to do."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Usually Kai wants to do something, but I guess he didn't feel like doing anything today."

Nya frowned. Kai always jumped at the chance to do something with her. What was different about today?

Before she could ponder the question further, they heard the sound of a door opening, and, sure enough, the red ninja walked into the living room, wearing his civilian attire.

"Hey Kai," Jay said. "Missed you this afternoon."

"Yeah," Nya piped up, "Where did you go, brother?" Unlike Jay, the samurai was quite blunt.

Kai glanced at his friends, each of them watching him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"I was out," Kai said plainly, not wanting to elaborate on the subject. He then yawned. "I think I'm gonna go take a nap now."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "Okay, guess we'll see you at dinner then," he said, glancing at Nya, whose arms were crossed defiantly.

Something was definitely up.

The red ninja nodded at Sam, who had a game controller in her hand. She must've been playing video games with Lloyd this afternoon. He had wondered what she would do while he was gone.

Without saying another word, Kai disappeared into the hall, leaving the four young adults to talk amongst themselves.

"Well that was weird," Lloyd commented, breaking the silence that had formed around the group.

Nya nodded. She knew her brother was generally a private person, so whatever he was thinking wasn't about to come out anytime soon.

Sam sighed. "Well, I guess I better go make dinner," she said, standing up from her seat on the floor. "I was thinking fish. What do you guys think?"

"Fish sounds good," Jay said, glad to be talking about something other than Kai. "Do you want us to help?"

Sam's eyes widened in surprise, slightly taken aback by the offer. "Um, sure, you can if you want."

"Yeah, we'd be happy to help," Nya said, enthusiasm in her voice. She knew that Sam was a novice cooker, so she thought she may have wanted assistance.

The blonde smiled, appreciative of her friends' eagerness to help.

"Thanks, guys. That means a lot to me."

"No prob," Jay said, waving her thanks aside. He then rubbed his hands together. "Now, let's get cooking."

The three friends made their way into the kitchen. Sam immediately went to the fridge and began rummaging for the fish in the freezer.

"And, uh, I can help too."

Sam turned around to find Lloyd standing on the other side of the counter, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Thanks, Lloyd," she said, flashing the green ninja a grateful smile as she took the frozen fish out of the fridge and set the package on the counter.

"Just tell us what to do and we'll do it," Nya said. "I can make side dishes if you want."

"And Lloyd and I can set the table," Jay said, grabbing some plates from the cabinet. It was true that setting the table required some effort, as there were eight spots that needed to be set, and it was tradition for the ninja to have the table set properly for the evening meal.

"Sure. Anything you can do will help," Sam answered, already gathering the ingredients to cook the fish. She was planning to make miso-glazed cod, which only required mirin, miso paste, sugar, and olive oil, so there weren't that many ingredients to collect, but as inexperienced as she was with cooking, she was glad for the extra pairs of hands.

* * *

After their long day of being out and about in the city, Zane and Cole came home to the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen.

"Mm, what's cooking this time?" the earth ninja asked, sniffing the air as the two walked into the living area.

"Fish. Cod specifically," Sam replied, who was working alongside Nya in the kitchen, trying to finish preparing the side dishes. Nya was busy making fried rice while Sam was furiously chopping vegetables for the salad.

"Sounds good to me. I'm starving," Cole said, as plopped down on the couch next to Jay.

Lloyd had returned to playing video games after an exhausting table-setting lesson with the blue ninja, who had taken his job as table-setter very seriously. Every eating utensil had had to be perfectly straight, set a certain distance apart. Yes, the blue ninja had been picky. But it was worth it, since he had gotten to help Sam.

"So what'd you guys do today?" Jay asked, turning to his black-clad brother, who had decided to wear his street clothes for the day.

"Well," Cole began, "we first went to the music store 'cause I wanted to check out if there were any new albums I wanted, which there weren't any. Then Zane wanted to go the book store, so we went there for a short while/time. Then we went to go see the newest Batman movie that Kai and Sam saw a couple weeks ago, which was good actually," he explained. "Then we came back here."

Zane nodded in agreement. "Yes, unfortunately I too was not able to find anything that appealed to me at the book store, but I did enjoy the movie, which was quite action-packed indeed."

"Sounds like you had fun," Jay said. "Me and Nya are more than halfway done with replacing the screens in the control room."

"Nice," Cole said, nodding in approval. He didn't know much about that kind of thing, but it sounded like a lot of work, which he could appreciate. "How about you, Lloyd?" Cole asked, turning to the green ninja sitting on the floor. "What'd you do?"

"Eh, I just played video games," Lloyd answered, his eyes glued to the television screen. "Sam joined me for a little while, but other than that, not much."

"Cool," the earth ninja said, his eyes wandering around the room. "Hey, has anyone seen Kai? Haven't seen him since breakfast."

"Yeah," Lloyd replied. "He went to his room to take a nap. He said he was out, but he didn't say where."

"Yeah, he was acting strange," Nya added, overhearing the conversation from the kitchen.

Cole frowned. "Hmm, wonder why," he thought aloud.

Jay shrugged, not bothering to give any suggestions. "Let's just hope he's better by dinner," he said. However, somehow the ninja of lightning knew that the issue was far from being resolved.


	54. Chapter 54

**Hey everyone! Hope y'all are still enjoying the story! Sorry it took me so long to update. And as always, don't forget to R &amp; R! :D**

"The fish turned out really good, Sam," Jay said, taking a bite of cod. "We did good." Nya mhm-ed in agreement.

The ninja, Sensei, and the girls had just sat down to dinner, all exhausted after their long day of doing nothing.

"Wait, you guys helped?" Cole asked, glancing up from his food. He didn't recall the blue ninja cooking for them very often.

Jay nodded. "Yep. Lloyd did too," he said, nodding in the direction of the green ninja.

Lloyd returned the nodded politely, acknowledging his brother's remark, but did not offer any additional comment. He was too busy observing Kai, who, to the ninja and the girls' delight, had come to the table for dinner, but was quiet and detached like he had been earlier.

Jay also noticed that his teammate was still behaving strangely.

"Isn't the fish good, Kai?" the blue ninja asked, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

Kai slowly looked up from his food and saw that his family was watching him with expectant gazes.

"Uh, yeah," he said, then quickly returned his attention to his plate.

The rest of the ninja and the girls exchanged worried expressions, unsure of how to react to their friend's lack of response.

Before Jay could open his mouth again, Sensei took the opportunity to intervene.

"Is everything alright, Kai?" the martial arts teacher asked, putting the red ninja on the spot.

"Yeah, Sensei, just a bit tired, that's all," he answered.

Sensei could tell that his pupil was lying, but did not question him further. He believed that it was best for the ninja to work out their problems themselves unless he absolutely needed to step in, especially when fists were involved.

"So, Sensei, what did you do today?" Cole asked, trying to ease some of the tension in the room.

Sensei stroked his beard in thought. "Let me see…first, I went to the tea shop to sample some of their newest teas," he said. "Then I took a stroll through Ninjago City Park and enjoyed the nice weather. The seasons are beginning to change from spring to summer indeed."

"Ah, I love the summer," Jay sighed dreamily. "Concerts, parties—everything happens in the summer."

"I too enjoy the summertime," Zane added. "Though it can get quite hot at times."

"Says the ninja of ice," Cole teased. "I personally like the fall. It's not too hot and it's not too cold. It's just right."

Once everyone finished eating and the dishes were put away, the ninja and the girls migrated to the living room. Lloyd had had his share of video games for the day, so he let Jay, Zane, and Cole have a go at the controllers. Kai, however, was still silent.

Sam studied the red ninja sitting next to her on the couch, wondering what could've possibly happened for him to act this way. She was really beginning to worry it was something that she had done.

Kai sensed that she was watching him and glanced up at her, only for the blonde to give him a friendly smile. Not wanting to appear like a total jerk, he returned the smile, though it came out more crooked than he had intended it to.

After the red ninja had redirected his attention somewhere else, Sam looked down at her lap, not really in the mood to watch the game that was ensuing on the floor in front of her.

Meanwhile, next to Sam, Lloyd had noticed the exchange between his brother and his girlfriend, and couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Sam, and a twinge of annoyance at his teammate. Could he not see that Sam was feeling dejected because of him?

"Hey, I had fun at dinner last night," Sam said, breaking the awkward silence. She was desperate for Kai to say something.

To her surprise, the red ninja slowly turned his head to look at her, and immediately his expression softened.

"I'm glad."

Unfortunately, that was all he had to say before reverting back to his unusually quiet self.

Finally, after about ten minutes of uninterrupted silence, Kai stretched his arms above his head.

"I think I'm gonna turn in for the night," he said.

Hearing their teammate speak, Jay, Cole, and Zane turned their heads, acknowledging the red ninja's remark.

"Okay," Jay said, eyeing his teammate warily. "Hope you're not coming down with something, with all the sleeping you've been doing lately." He thought that the comment might give Kai some cover for his odd behavior, plus maybe make Sam feel a little better by believing that the red ninja's aloofness was not caused by her.

"Yeah, I've been pretty tired," Kai said, running his hand through his spiky brown hair. "Well, g'night."

"Good night," the others called after him as he left.

After they heard the door of the ninjas' bedroom shut, Sam stood up from the couch as well.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed too," Sam said, though the defeated look in her eyes showed that she probably wasn't going to be sleeping very soundly that night.

Lloyd followed Sam's example. "Yeah, I'm gonna get some shut eye," the green ninja said, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright. Good night you two," Cole said, giving the pair a knowing look. Ever since he had found out about their little training sessions, he couldn't help but relish in the secret.

As Sam and Lloyd headed to their respective bedrooms, Jay suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, and Sam," he called out.

The blonde turned around.

"You think Cyrus Borg was really serious when he said I could come over any time to visit?"

Sam's eyes widened. "Um, sure," she replied, a bit caught off guard by the blue ninja's question. It had been a week or so since the topic of Borg Industries had been brought up at dinner. She had practically forgotten that she had ever said anything about Cyrus inviting the ninja over. "You wanna come with me on Monday?"

Jay's blue eyes twinkled. "Really?" he asked. "I mean, I don't wanna intrude or anything, 'cause I know it's your _job _and everything…"

"Oh no, it's fine," Sam assured him, waving the blue ninja's worries aside. "I'd love to have you come."

A large grin spread across the blue ninja's face. "Oh wow! I can't believe I'm actually gonna see Cyrus Borg again!"

Sam couldn't help but smile at Jay's antics. His enthusiasm was contagious, that's for sure.

"Yeah, and you can take the bus with me to work," Sam said. "Then you can use your dragon to get home if you want."

"This is gonna be so awesome!" He then paused. "Maybe I should ask for Sensei's permission first."

Sam chuckled. "That'd be good. I'm sure he'll let you, though."

"I hope so." He looked down at the ground as if he was imagining how the conversation with his teacher would go. He then glanced up at his houseguest. "Well, have a good night, Sam," he said.

"You too, Jay."

"'Night, Sam," Zane and Cole said, who had been half-listening to her and Jay's conversation.

"'Night, guys."

On the way to her room, it crossed Sam's mind that maybe Jay would have an idea as to why Kai was acting so strange. It was disconcerting to her, to say the least. Who knows, maybe he would be better by tomorrow. She could only hope.


	55. Chapter 55

Jay was concerned.

It was Sunday, and Kai hadn't shown up to breakfast, only to find that the red ninja had been sleeping in. He had almost missed training, and most certainly would have if Jay hadn't woken him up.

It was now that the ninja of lightning began to realize how much the Skylor thing was eating at his teammate, if that's what was even bothering him at all. It almost made Jay consider that Kai was indeed coming down with an illness, due to his weird behavior. But deep down, the blue ninja knew that the only thing that his best friend was coming down with was a big bowl of insanity and inner torment.

As a guy, Jay kind of understood Kai's obsession with his former love interest, as she was an attractive woman, and he understood that the out-of-reach quality about her might prompt his brother to chase her just a bit.

But the blue ninja also knew that what his teammate had with Sam was good, at least in his opinion, and he thought that Kai should appreciate what he had, not that there was any evidence that he didn't. Yet, the distance he was keeping from the rest of the ninja and from Sam was really starting to affect his relationship with the others, especially Sam, who was clearly disturbed by Kai's abnormal behavior. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. It was written all over her face.

There was a part of Jay that was desperate to enlighten Sam on why Kai was acting strange. However, he believed that the worst thing he could do was get involved. What would he tell her anyways? Oh yeah, by the way, Kai's still hooked on some girl that he was completely in love with before you showed up. That conversation probably wouldn't go well.

Either way, he was torn watching his brother and his new friend becoming separated.

"Hey, can you hand me the socket wrench?" a female voice asked.

Upon hearing his girlfriend's voice, Jay blinked, freeing himself from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, right," he said, reaching for the so-called socket wrench from his toolbox.

After training, Jay had decided to help Nya in the control room for the rest of the afternoon, which turned out to be simply handing her tools while she worked. Which was fine by him, since he was always eager to help the female samurai.

"Thank you," she said as she took the wrench from him.

There was a moment of silence before Nya spoke again.

"What's Kai's deal anyways?" she blurted out, recalling her brother's odd behavior. Of course, she hasn't expected an answer out of Jay, but nonetheless, her question made the blue ninja edgy.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe he's sick, or has amnesia. Or maybe he's just gone crazy. It was bound to happen eventually," Jay chuckled nervously.

Nya paused from her work to look at her boyfriend.

"I don't know, he just isn't acting like himself. And usually he's with Sam, but lately he's only been in the same room with her once or twice. Do you think everything's okay?"

The blue ninja frantically began thinking of ways to respond to her question. "Uh, sure," he said, clearing his throat. "I mean, every relationship has it's ups and downs..." His eyes widened, realizing what he had just said. "I mean..."

Nya raised a brow, not because she thought he was referring to their relationship, but because his tone of voice indicated that he knew more than what he was letting on.

"Jay..." she warned. "What's going on?"

Jay tugged at the neckline of his gi. "Um, nothing. Nothing at all," he lied.

Unfortunately, Nya didn't believe him. "Come on, Jay, I know you know _something,_"she said, pointing the wrench at him accusingly.

The ninja of lightning's eyes darted around the room.

"Don't make me do the puppy dog face," Nya threatened.

A bead of sweat formed on the blue ninja's head. He couldn't compete with Nya's puppy dog face. She had the best puppy face ever.

He bit his lip, struggling to maintain his composure as the samurai's dark eyes bore into him.

"KaisawSkylorandnowhethinkshe'sstillinlovewithher," he blurted out, all in one breath.

Nya gasped slightly. She has understood perfectly well what her boyfriend had said.

"Skylor?! She's in Ninjago City?" she asked.

Jay shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that Kai thinks he saw her. And now he's super confused because on the one hand, he likes Sam, but on the other hand, he wants to patch things up with Skylor. It's all so crazy," he said, making circular motions next to head with his index finger for emphasis.

Nya frowned. "Kai still has feelings for Skylor?" she mumbled under her breath. "Well, what does Sam think of all this?" she said, glancing up at the blue ninja.

A sheepish smile formed across Jay's face. "See, the thing is, she doesn't know..." he trailed off, unsure of how his girlfriend would react.

_So Kai never told her about Skylor... _Nya thought_._

Truth was, she was surprised that Kai was still so hung up on Skylor, even after the months that had passed since they last saw her. And Kai had looked so happy when he had been with Sam. That couldn't have been all an act.

"Kai's just going through a phase," Nya said, shaking her head, knowing her brother had a tendency to be on either end of the extreme at times. "I'm sure by tomorrow he'll go back to being the puppy dog that he is. If not, then I'm gonna talk to him."

"See, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jay told her. "I don't think we should interfere, since it is just between them."

"But what about Sam?" Nya asked. "The poor thing's gonna think it's something that she's done."

The blue ninja shrugged again. "I just don't think we should stick our noses where they don't belong. It's only gonna make things worse, especially if she finds out Kai isn't over Skylor."

Nya sighed. She could see where her boyfriend was coming from, but she didn't like the idea of doing nothing.

"Look Jay, Kai hasn't been happier since he's been with Sam. And Sam's such a sweet girl. I've only known her for a couple weeks now, but I just think that she's so good for him."

"And I do too," Jay agreed. "But that's his decision to make. Not ours."

The samurai was silent for a minute. "I guess you're right," she finally said, glancing down at the ground in defeat.

"Hey," Jay said, putting a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. "Why don't we just see how it plays out? If he's not better by the end of the week, then maybe we can try talking to him."

Nya nodded. "That sounds fair."

"Good." Jay gazed down at the samurai endearingly. He could tell how desperate she was to help her brother. He wanted to help him too. But, as his best friend, Jay knew it was best for Kai to sort out things himself. Otherwise, the red ninja could get irritable, and even further lost in his problems.

Without thinking, the blue ninja tucked a strand of hair behind his girlfriend's ear. "Don't worry," he assured her. "It'll work out, I'm sure."

Nya smiled. "Thanks, Jay," she said. Before the blue ninja could process what was happening, she stood on her tiptoes and gave her boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek, causing his face to turn beet red.

"Wha-what was that for?" he stuttered, lightly touching the place where she had kissed him.

She flashed him a cheeky grin. "Just 'cause. 'Cause you're the best boyfriend ever."

Recovering from the initial shock, Jay smiled. "I think that means I deserve another one," he teased.

Nya playfully rolled her eyes, and got on her tiptoes to kiss him. This time, however, she gave him a short, but sweet peck on the lips.

"There. Happy?"

"Very."

To his surprise, the samurai lightly jabbed him in the ribs.

"Ow! What what was that for?" he cried out, pretending to be in pain.

"And that was for keeping that from me," she said, referring to their previous topic of conversation. She then turned back to her work. "Now, let's get this done before dinner."


	56. Chapter 56

"Come on, Sam. Focus," Lloyd instructed.

The green ninja had decided that today was a good day for practicing balance, as Spinjitzu required one to be steady on their feet, especially when you were spinning around at at least 50 miles per hour and you had to stop quickly.

So, as part of her training, Sam had to master several different exercises that included balance. One of them was balancing a stack of books on her head, which was what she was struggling with at the moment.

The book that Lloyd had just placed on the top of her head was wobbling slightly, meaning that Sam hadn't particularly mastered the skill of balance just yet.

"You can do it," he encouraged. "Let your muscles relax and just focus on keeping the book still."

Of course, Lloyd's advice always sounded simpler than it actually was. The green ninja knew this. However, he knew that each exercise took time to master, and the more exercises she completed, the closer she would be to learning Spinjitzu.

Sam closed her eyes, trying to ignore the feeling of the weight of the book on her head, but it was no use. As soon as the green ninja placed a second book on her head, both of the books toppled to the floor.

Lloyd's eyes met Sam's, and he watched her sigh as she bent down to pick up the books.

"Hey, that was better than last time," he chuckled nervously. He could tell that she was growing increasingly frustrated with the exercise.

After picking up the books, Sam handed them back to him, defeat shining in her pale blue eyes.

"I don't know, Lloyd. I guess I'm just not feeling up to it today."

The green ninja studied her curiously. While his first instinct was to push her to continue the exercise, he could tell she meant it.

"I understand," he said.

He figured that she's must've been thinking about Kai. The one who so carelessly tossed her aside for someone who he hadn't even spoken to, let alone seen in almost a year.

"Why don't we stretch first, then we'll call it a day?" he suggested.

Sam nodded.

They both sat down in a butterfly position on the floor and began stretching.

After a minute or so of silence, Sam couldn't contain her thoughts any more.

"I don't know why Kai is acting so strange," she blurted out. "I mean, he still talks to me and everything, but I can't help but feel like he's avoiding me."

Lloyd stiffened, as he knew exactly why Kai was avoiding her.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "He's been acting kinda strange lately."

"I'm just worried that it has something to do with me," Sam said, looking down at her lap sadly. "I mean, everything was going great, then he started acting weird after our date."

Realizing who she was speaking to, she froze.

"I-I'm sorry for bringing it up," she said, processing that she had spilled something personal to the green ninja, about the green ninja's friend. "It's just been bothering me."

Lloyd flashed her a sympathetic smile.

"It's okay. We all need to vent sometimes," he answered. Which was true, considering how broken up he had been feeling lately about the loss of his father. He knew those types of things shouldn't be let to stir inside for so long, otherwise, they would eat at you until you eventually just gave up completely.

In her and Kai's case, though, it was Kai's fault for leading her on and then dumping her for a girl who was long out of his reach. Of course, he could see why Kai had liked Skylor, as she was beautiful and a little exotic in her own way. But he himself simply could not see their relationship going beyond something platonic, as Skylor had her own life and Kai had his, with his ninja training and all. And not only that, Kai's insensitivity was messing up his training with Sam.

Needless to say, he wasn't exactly happy that Kai was preoccupied with another girl. The compassionate side of him wouldn't allow himself to thrive off of Sam's misfortune. However, it did occur to him that maybe the rift in their relationship would be an opportunity to get to know each other better. Since Kai wasn't spending as much time with her, maybe, just maybe...

He shook his head, feeling slightly guilty for thinking that way. Sam was his friend, and there was not a chance that she would even feel anything for him, even if she and Kai's relationship did turn sour. It was just wrong.

"Kai's just probably going through a phase, Sam. I'm sure that it'll be better within a few days," he reassured her.

At his attempt at reassurance, Sam gave him a grateful smile, and the green ninja was instantly struck by a warm, fuzzy sensation in his chest.

Even if Sam did not reciprocate any feelings for him, there was a strong possibility that maybe he was falling for her.


	57. Chapter 57

"Ready to go, Jay?" Sam asked as she stood up from the breakfast table.

"Almost," the blue ninja answered, quickly taking his last bite of cereal before standing up. "There. Now I'm ready."

As it turned out, Sensei had relented and had allowed Jay to spend the day at Borg Industries with Sam, which the blue ninja had been very happy about. It helped that he had good negotiating skills, meaning he begged and pleaded until his teacher let him go. It had already been a busy morning for the ninja as well as Sam, who had gotten up a tad later than usual due to the lack of sleep she had had the night before, worrying about Kai and Lloyd and just, well, everything. To her disappointment, she hadn't seemed to make much progress with the red ninja during breakfast that morning. He was still extremely reserved and distant acting. Lloyd on the other hand, was more friendly outside of their training sessions. That could've been her imagination though.

Anyways, after saying their goodbyes to everyone, Jay and Sam headed out, taking the bus to the company. Sam couldn't help but find amusement in the blue ninja's excitement. On the ride to Borg Industries, he was constantly talking on about how great Cyrus Borg was. Now she understood why they called him Motor mouth sometimes.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm gonna see Cyrus Borg again!" Jay said for the hundredth time as they walked into the building. "Maybe he'll show me some new inventions he's been working on. Whatever they are, I bet they're super cool!"

Sam was planning to escort Jay to Mr. Borg's office before heading to her own office to start on her work. She hoped that there would be less disagreements on the blueprints than there were last week.

On the way to Mr. Borg's office, she replayed the conversation she had had with Lloyd yesterday morning. She worried that maybe she had opened up too much to the green ninja about her personal life, but at the same time, she wondered if they had any insight as to why Kai was acting so strange.

"Thanks again for taking me today," Jay said, breaking her train of thought. Sam smiled at the blue ninja.

"Oh, it's no problem at all, really," she said. "I just thought since Mr. Borg had suggested you visiting, I thought I'd invite you to come with me."

Jay chuckled. Out of all the ninja, he knew he was probably the most memorable, as he knew how excited he got when it came to technology. "Either way, it was really nice of you," he said. "I know it probably hasn't been the greatest couple of days for you."

Sam sighed, knowing that he was referring to Kai. "Yeah, it hasn't been the best. I just don't know what's wrong with him."

At the tone of her voice, Jay's smile faded. Truth be told, he felt kind of guilty for keeping the real reason behind Kai's strange behavior from her, but he knew that it was better, at least for now, that she didn't.

"Kai just gets weird sometimes," he said, shrugging it off. "It has nothing to do with you, I'm sure." That was at least partially true.

"I hope not," Sam answered, glancing down at the ground sadly. "It just don't know what went wrong. We were having a good time, at least I thought we were, but the next day he starts acting all distant and detached."

"Eh, I'm sure it's no big deal," Jay said. "It's not like he's avoiding you because he's doubting his feelings for you or anything-"

Realizing what he had just said, the blue ninja quickly covered his mouth, in fear that he had just revealed Kai's secret to Sam. Thankfully, the blonde was too absorbed in her thoughts to process his careless remark.

"It's just odd," she said. "I wish there was something I could do to fix it."

Jay watched Sam stare off into space, as if she was contemplating ways she could resolve the conflict between her and Kai. He suddenly was overcome with another wave of guilt.

"It'll be okay, Sam. I'm sure you'll work it out," he said, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Truth was, he didn't know when or even if the situation could be resolved, but he felt he needed to console her somehow.

Sam flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Jay. I appreciate it."

When they reached Cyrus Borg's office at the top of the building, Sam lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in," a muffled voice said.

Sam and Jay exchanged knowing looks before the door slid open. At the back of the room sat none other than Cyrus, who, seeing his guests enter, glanced up from his desk. His eyes brightened when he saw who was visiting him.

"Jay, how great it is to see you!" he said. "Come in, come in!"

Jay could barely contain his excitement as the approached the dark-haired man.

"Cyrus!" Jay exclaimed, frantically shaking his hand. "How are you? Haven't seen you since we almost got destroyed by the Overlord. Have you made any cool inventions since we last saw you? Of course you have, I mean, you're Cyrus Borg! You're always making something totally amazing!"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle at the blue ninja's antics, as did Cyrus.

"As a matter of fact, I have made quite a few things since I last saw you ninja," Cyrus answered. "In fact, Samantha," he said, motioning towards the blonde, "is helping me with one of my newest creations."

Sam nodded. "I'm helping to make a an autopilot car with the other interns, that regular civilians can use."

Little did she know that Jay was only half-listening. His eyes wandered around the office until he spotted a strange-looking mechanism in the corner.

"Ooo, what is that?" he asked, walking over towards the device.

"That," Cyrus said, adjusting his glasses, "is a device I would like to call The Teleporter 300. It's a...work in progress."

Jay's eyes widened at the description. "You mean, this thing can teleport?!" he asked excitedly.

Cyrus chuckled. "Well, sort of," he said. "It breaks apart the atoms of an object into the tiniest of molecules, which then go through this tube," he explained, pointing at the tube-like chute hanging above the machine. "Then they are supposed come out the other side and be put back together. Like I said, it's a work in progress. So far, it can only handle small objects. Paper clips seem to be the only thing that have been teleported successfully, but we are hoping to improve it with some time."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Jay exclaimed once more. "Just think, in a couple years, we could be teleporting _people_ through those!" he said. "Imagine how great that would be! I'd never have to physically leave my room again!"

As usual, Cyrus find Jay's enthusiasm refreshing. "Which is why we need inventive young minds such as you and Samantha," he said, smiling at the two young adults. "I am sure you'd make a great team."

"Yeah we would!" Jay cheered. "Creating inventions for Borg Industries? That'd be like a dream come true!"

"Indeed it would," Cyrus agreed. He then turned to Sam. "I assume it was you who invited Jay to come see me, correct?"

Sam nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir. The other ninja were not able to make it. I believe they are training today."

She glanced down at the ground sadly-one particular ninja stood out in her mind more so than the others.

Cyrus noticed a slight frown flicker over her features.

"My dear, may I ask what is troubling you?" he asked. If there was anything troubling her all.

Sam looked up at her boss but had difficulty maintaining eye contact.

"I-It's not a big deal," she said. A lump was beginning to form on her throat the longer she thought about it.

Based on her reaction, Cyrus concluded that the matter was personal, and that she did not want to discuss at the moment, therefore he did not pry.

"Very well. I suppose you wish to return to your office now?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, Mr. Borg, and I will be sending you the blueprints later today."

"Excellent," he said. "And maybe you wouldn't mind showing Jay your office if you would like," he added, motioning towards the blue ninja, who had been busy gawking over the various technology in the room.

The blonde managed to crack a smile at the ever-enthusiastic Jay Walker looking at all the inventions in the office, new and old. She was sure that by the end of the day, his eyes would stay permanently open and he never blink again.

"I'd be happy too, sir," she said.


	58. Chapter 58

The next day, Sam woke up bright and early to continue her lessons with the green ninja.

She had to admit it was becoming harder to maintain enthusiasm about learning Spinjitzu, when the person she was learning for was keeping her at a distance. And, despite what Lloyd said, she still believed she wasn't making much progress.

The blonde went into the training room, only to find that the green ninja wasn't there. She frowned, puzzled. Lloyd was never late for a training session.

Deciding that there was nothing to do with Lloyd absent, Sam turned and walked back into the hall, only to bump into the master of Spinjitzu himself.

"Sorry," she said, slightly flustered at the fact that she had just run into the greatest hero of Ninjago.

However, after recovering from her initial embarrassment, she noticed that he was dressed in civilian clothes.

"Are we still training today?" she asked, eyeing the green hoodie he was wearing.

Lloyd sensed she was confused. "If you want to, we can. I just thought that maybe I'd take a walk first to get some fresh air," he explained. "You're welcome to come with me if you want."

Sam eyes widened, surprised by the offer. "You want _me_ to come with_ you_?"

The green ninja chuckled. He had to admit her awe of him boosted his ego, plus, he found it strangely endearing in a way.

"Sure," he answered. "The more the merrier."

His words instantly brought memories of her second full day on the Bounty, when he had told her the exact same thing.

"Alright," she said, a small smile spreading across her face. "Just let me get my jacket."

Seconds later, she returned, wearing a white sweatshirt over the pink tank top she had originally planned to wear during training.

Seeing she was ready, Lloyd grinned. "Let's go."

The sun was beginning to peer over the horizon when the pair left the Bounty, as it was barely six in the morning. The sky was a brilliant golden-orange color, and the first rays of light were brightly shining, causing Sam and Lloyd to squint as they started their walk.

"That's a beautiful sunrise," Lloyd remarked, shielding his eyes with his hand so he could directly look at the intense ball of light.

"It is," Sam agreed, admiring the scenery.

To the friends' convenience, the Bounty had been parked close to Ninjago City Park, which was always beautiful at this time of day. Some flowers were in the process of blooming, and the faint chirping of birds could be heard in the distance.

Lloyd walked with his hands in his pockets, enjoying the company.

"I'm glad you came with me, Sam," he said, breaking the silence between them.

Their eyes met, and Sam gave him a warm smile. "I am too."

It was nice to be away from the Bounty for a little while, where they didn't have to worry about getting caught, as Cole had caught them a few days ago. They could just talk and have a real conversation, aside from the topic of Spinjitzu.

"So how did you meet the ninja?" Sam asked. It wasn't an intrusive question, rather, she was just curious about how the brotherhood had begun in the first place.

Lloyd was mildly taken aback by the,question, but was not deterred by it.

"The ninja were together a while before I had officially joined the team," the green ninja explained. "You see, before they found me I was wandering Ninjago by myself, in order to find some place I could temporarily call home...and cause trouble. When they met me, they only saw me as my fa-Lord Garmadon's son."

"Where were you before then?" Sam asked.

"I was at Darkly's Boarding School for Bad Boys," Lloyd said, glancing down at the ground forlornly. "My mother sent me there so she could spend all of her time trying to prevent the final battle."

Sam frowned. "Final battle?" she repeated.

Lloyd nodded. "As you know, my father was...evil." He paused before continuing. "And a long time ago, there was a prophecy, where the green ninja was supposed to defeat the Dark Lord."

He averted his eyes away from Sam. "And, it just so happened that I was destined to be the green ninja." The blond boy sighed. "So, that was when I had to make a choice: to save my father, or save Ninjago."

From his body language, Sam immediately knew what choice he had made.

"So I trained with the ninja, to help me prepare to face my father. But at the beginning, they didn't like me very much. They would always tell me to stay behind, that I was too small to help."

Sam's brows knitted in confusion. "Too small? Aren't you only a year or two younger than them?"

Lloyd's face remained stoic. "No, I was only ten years old."

His green eyes bore into hers. "I've only been alive for about thirteen years. But when I was exposed to Tomorrow's Tea in order to save the rest of the ninja, I grew up instantly. It was a hard decision, but I have no regrets."

The pair walked in a comfortable silence for a couple minutes before Lloyd spoke again.

"What was your childhood like, Sam?" he asked. He knew that he had spent a good portion of their walk talking about himself, but there was still so much he did not know,about her.

Sam, who had been busy processing what the green ninja had said prior, thought for a moment before answering. "My childhood was pretty ordinary for the most part," she said. "My little brother was born when I was seven, and my parents and I have always had a good relationship. Of course, we've had a few disagreements here and there, but nothing really big ever happened."

"Same here," Lloyd said. "My dad and I didn't exactly see eye-to-eye sometimes, but he was usually right." He chuckled slightly, recalling the number of times his father had proven him wrong, on multiple occasions. "Parents, right?"

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I know how that is."

After the laughter had died down, Lloyd looked at the sun, and saw that the sun was well above the horizon.

"We should probably be heading back," the green ninja said. He knew the others would be up soon and he didn't want them to worry, or have them see him with Sam. It would ruin the whole Spinjitzu thing if he had to explain to them why they were up so early.

Sam nodded in agreement, and the two turned and started making their journey back to the Bounty, a new sense of friendship surrounding them.

Even if she quit learning Spinjitzu, Sam realized that she could turn to Lloyd if she ever needed someone to confide in. Lloyd would gladly talk to her, even if Kai didn't.


	59. Chapter 59

When the green ninja and Sam returned to the Bounty, everyone was still asleep, thankfully. Not wanting to wake anyone up, Lloyd did not retire to his room, but instead, hung out in the kitchen. Sam decided to stay as well, and make herself a bowl of cereal before she got ready for work.

Lloyd decided to eat breakfast too, since there was nothing else he could really do. And deep down, he also wanted to spend more time with Sam.

Unfortunately, there was no time left to train, as a dazed-looking Cole walked into the kitchen and stumbled upon Sam and Lloyd, who were almost done eating.

"Ah, did you guys do some training this morning?" he asked, yawning loudly.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at his teammate. "No, we took a walk," he answered softly, silently reprimanding the earth ninja for being so indiscreet.

"A walk?" Cole repeated. "Well, I guess it's a nice day for it. Maybe I'll take a walk of my own. A walk to the fridge."

Lloyd rolled his eyes at his teammate as he headed for the refrigerator, causing Sam to smile, amused by the brothers' antics. The green ninja caught the blonde watching him from the other side of the table and blushed. He had it bad, but he wasn't about to admit it.

"So, uh, Sam, you going to your internship today?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I have to be there at eight again." She glanced at the clock, and saw it was already seven-thirty. "Oh, man, I'm gonna be late."

Taking her bowl and spoon, Sam abruptly stood up from her seat and carefully put her dishes in the sink before dashing to her room.

As Sam left the kitchen, Cole sat down at the table with the box of Frosted Oats and began pouring them into a bowl.

"So, Lloyd, how's the training been going?" he asked, glancing up at his teammate. Lloyd, who had been staring in the direction that Sam had made her hasty exit, met the earth ninja's gaze.

"Uh, it's been going good," he answered, nonchalantly. "She's made some progress. Not to the point where she can actually spin without spraining something, but her flexibility has improved a lot."

Cole nodded in understanding. "That's good," he said. "It's too bad Kai can't see how far she's gotten. I'm not sure what's been up with him lately."

"Yeah, it's too bad," Lloyd agreed, a little too quickly in Cole's opinion.

The earth ninja detected an easiness in the green ninja's voice.

"What's up, Green Machine? Something bothering you?" he asked, raising his brow in concern.

Lloyd shook his head forcefully. "Nope. Everything's fine, Cole."

"Alright, just checkin'," his teammate answered, then returned his attention back to his Frosted Oats, completely oblivious to the thoughts racing through the green ninja's mind.

After Sam showered and finished getting ready, she grabbed her purse and hurriedly made her way back into the kitchen, where the ninja were eating their breakfast. By this time, the rest of the ninja had awakened, including Kai, who remained impassive and a tad solemn-looking as he sat at the table, munching his cereal.

"Okay, I'll see you guys, later," Sam said, passing by the group. She slowed when she passed by the red ninja. "See you, Kai," she muttered softly, wanting to make some kind of connection with him.

Kai glanced up, and for a split-second, their eyes met. He nodded, acknowledging her farewell, but to her dismay, he kept silent.

Hanging her head in defeat, she gave everyone a small wave before she disappeared, leaving an awkward silence among the rest of the ninja.

Jay snuck a peek at his teammate from behind the box of Frosted Oats.

"Hey, Kai, you feeling better?" the blue ninja asked, his eyebrow raised in concern.

Kai poked at his cereal. "I guess," he mumbled, though most of his cereal remained untouched.

Cole rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by his brother's less-than-stellar behavior. "Wow, glad you reassured us," he said under his breath, just loud enough for the red ninja to hear.

Zane sensed the tension between his brothers and sought to clear the air.

"What do you think Sensei will have us do today?" he asked, attempting to make polite conversation.

"Whatever it is, I know who's not gonna try," the earth ninja grumbled, taking a spoonful of his cereal.

Upon hearing the words, Kai abruptly stood up from his chair, creating a loud screeching sound across the wooden floor.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, slamming his fists against the table.

The other ninja were startled by the red ninja's erratic behavior, but Cole, while surprised, stood his ground.

"I mean you haven't been trying very hard lately, and it's bringing down our team," he said.

Jay, who was uneasy watching the conversation unfold in front of him, took the opportunity to share his thoughts on the matter.

"Yeah, Kai, I know you've been feeling down lately, but that's no excuse to be treating people like dirt."

While he was probably more sympathetic towards the red ninja than the others, mainly because he actually knew what was going on, was becoming fed up with the situation.

Kai glowered at his best friend. Jay was supposed to be on his side of the argument. He had confided in the blue ninja for a reason.

"Don't you bring Sam into this," he growled.

"Oh, so there is something going on between you and Sam isn't there?" Cole asked, folding his arms at the mention of their houseguest's name. "That's what's been bugging you?"

Kai realized that in his fit of rage, he had accidentally brought his girlfriends' name up. "No! It's nothing!" he shot back. "And it's none of your business!"

"Whoa, easy, Kai," Jay said, waving his arms in defense. He knew his friend lost his temper easily, but when he really lost his temper, it was kind of scary. "We're just trying to help."

"Well, don't!" the red ninja exclaimed. He suddenly turned his back on his teammates and began storming out of the room. "I need some fresh air."

"Training starts in a few minutes..." Zane began, until Cole put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just forget it, Zane," the earth ninja said. "Kai just needs to cool off a bit. Don't know what's got him so fired up."

"I do," Jay sighed, hanging his head, though the others were too distracted to hear him.

Lloyd sat and absorbed what had just ensued at the breakfast table. While the arguing had been going on, he had been silent, partially because he was slightly intimidated by the red ninja's short temper, but also because he felt sort of guilty for even considering pursuing Sam behind his brother's back. After what he had just witnessed at the table, the green ninja was beginning to think that maybe he should back off for now. And he certainly didn't want to be the one in Kai's line of fire.


	60. Chapter 60

Kai walked down the streets of Ninjago City, struggling to clear his head.

The little blowup he had had with Cole at breakfast had really put him in a sour mood, so he had meant it when he had told his brothers he needed some fresh air.

His eyes casually scanned the street, looking out for any signs of the red-haired beauty from Chen's Island. Of course, he wasn't actively searching for her, but just in case was around, he wouldn't have minded catching a glimpse of her.

Deep down, though, he knew that Cole had been right. He hadn't been training as hard as the others, with his mind buzzing with thoughts of Skylor and of Sam. It was literally tearing him to pieces, watching the blonde distancing herself from him, as well as his old flame slipping out of his grasp like a fistful of sand. He just wasn't sure what to do.

Skylor had been his first real crush, but Sam was his first real relationship. He just couldn't decide which one was worth more.

He despised himself for even questioning his feelings for Sam, as he had lead her on this entire time, but he wasn't sure if he could ever get over Skylor for good. And he wasn't willing to put Sam through that, if he doubted he could erase the redhead from his mind permanently.

And it was all because he had thought he had seen her while he had been on a date with Sam.

He didn't even know if Skylor had been the girl he saw. But the very idea of seeing her again made him crazy.

A young couple passed him on the sidewalk. They were slightly younger than him—high schoolers—holding hands, their faces glowing with happiness.

He wanted that so badly, but...he just didn't know how.

Sam was a cute girl, with a sweet personality and a kind heart. When they were together, he had never felt more contented. But Skylor…Skylor was just—

"Dang it, Skylor," he mumbled under his breath, shaking his head in frustration. Even without physically being in her presence, she still was able to manipulate him.

Skylor was a beautiful woman, he had to admit. Yet, she always seemed one step ahead of him, always out of reach. At first, the chase had thrilled him. But where had it left him? Feeling alone and pathetic. With no friends, and no Sam. The poor girl probably thought he hated her, which couldn't have been further from the truth.

Chen's daughter may have stolen his affections for a brief period of time, but it was Sam who had given him something to look forward to. She had pulled him out of his slump, and for the first time since the Tournament of Elements, he had genuinely felt excited about something other than sitting on the couch all day, or playing video games until one in the morning, or even antagonizing Lloyd.

Sam made him smile, until he had started questioning their relationship. When she had left this morning, he realized how disheartened she had probably been, since he hadn't really been speaking to her a whole lot.

The sound of a car horn in the distance snapped Kai from his thoughts. In a daze, his eyes wandered up and down the line of shops. There was no sign of Skylor, just as he had expected.

Suddenly, the answer came to him, and struck him with such brute force that it caused him to stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

All along, it had been Sam. No matter how much he denied it, he knew that Sam was meant to be with him, in some form or another. He remembered a few weeks back when Sensei had told him him about how when one person's time is up, someone else enters the picture. He hadn't fully understood what his teacher had meant until now. Sam was the someone else Sense had been referring to. Whether it was permanent or not, he didn't know, but he had to try. Otherwise, he'd never break this cycle of feeling sorry for himself, and letting the good things pass him by.

Yet, his heart sank at the thought that maybe it was too late to patch things up with her. He been kind of rude to her, and she hadn't deserved that. He needed to apologize.

Making his decision, he took a deep breath, and turned around, proceeding to walk back towards the Bounty. Sam wasn't home from work yet, but she would be later, plus he needed to make it up to his teammates for his temper tamtrum at breakfast. He knew that his teacher would also be cross with him, considering this was the third time he had skipped training in the past two weeks or so.

_Hope Sensei's not too mad._


	61. Chapter 61

Kai walked through the front door of the Bounty. Since his little epiphany on the street, he had been rehearsing what he was going to say to Sensei, and what he was going to say to Sam. Since the blonde wasn't going to be home for a while, he had more time to figure how to structure his words.

Outside, he could hear the grunts and shouts of the other ninja training on the deck, along with his teacher barking orders at them every so often.

The red ninja sighed. Sensei probably was furious at him for wimping out on training again. He remembered how the martial arts teacher had expected him to be on his best behavior while Sam was staying on the Bounty. He had also broken his promise to clean up after training and do the grocery shopping for the past few days. Even though he knew Sensei had been merely trying to keep him on task, he had taken his teacher's warning to heart, when the elder man had told him that if he wasn't focused, other living arrangements for Sam would be made. He didn't know what other arrangements his teacher had in mind, but he certainly didn't want to find out.

Gathering up his courage, Kai made his way to the back door and stepped out onto the deck.

Hearing the sound of the sliding door opening, the rest of the ninja looked up to see their brother slowly approach them, casually avoiding eye contact with any of his teammates.

"Hey Kai," Jay called out to him, wanting to be friendly.

The red ninja gave them a small wave before turning his attention to his teacher.

Sensei, who was observing the ninja training on the other side of the deck, locked eyes with his pupil. The martial arts teacher was silent, which Kai took as a bad sign.

"Hey Sensei," Kai said, his head hung sheepishly as he approached his teacher.

"Hello Kai," Sensei answered. "What brings you here? I thought you were taking a walk."

Kai rubbed the back of neck awkwardly. He knew his teacher was being cross with him. "Yeah, I was," he answered. "I just needed some time to think."

"Cole told me you were upset with him," Sensei said. "For bringing Sam up at breakfast."

The red ninja glanced at the other ninja, who had resumed their training. While he was observing his brothers, he noticed Cole shoot him a dirty look. It was only for a split-second, but it sure didn't make him feel any better.

"Yes, Sensei, I was," Kai replied, bowing his head in shame. "I may have overreacted just a bit."

"At least you realize it," Sensei said, taking a sip of his tea. "So tell me, Kai, what made you so upset that you decided to skip out on training this time?"

Kai swallowed nervously. "I was mad because…well, I was mad at myself I guess, since I haven't been the nicest to Sam lately."

The martial arts teacher tilted his head curiously. "And why is that?"

"Because…I was torn," Kai explained. "Between Sam and Skylor."

"Skylor?" Sensei repeated.

"Yeah," the red ninja sighed. "See, when Sam and I went on our date on Friday, I thought I saw Skylor."

"And where did you see her?" his teacher asked.

"From far away," Kai answered. "She was going into one of the shops. I didn't see her face, but I saw the red hair, and I just thought it was her."

"So you do not know if it was truly Skylor then, is that correct?"

Kai glanced down at the ground. "No, I don't."

"Then why would it matter?"

"I don't know…" Kai trailed off. "It's just…I guess I was just excited about seeing her again, and then it made me start to question me and Sam. Because…it's Skylor, Sensei, and I, I just don't know…"

"From my observation, you seem to be very enthralled with Samantha. I guess I am not sure what you are seeking in a relationship," Sensei said. "Because to me, it appears she cares about you very much."

Kai closed his eyes. His teacher wasn't making it any easier. "I know, Sensei."

The martial arts teacher was quiet, processing what his pupil had told him before speaking again. "Have you considered how Sam feels in all of this? I take it she does not know about Skylor then, does she?"

"No, Sensei, she doesn't."

"Have you considered telling her about Skylor?"

Kai shook his head. "No, Sensei. Well, I have, but not for a while. If I told her now, it would totally kill our relationship completely."

"And how do you know? It would not surprise me if she had someone in her past she has chosen to keep from you."

The red ninja frowned. "No, Sensei, I don't think she does. If she did, she would've told me."

"Ah, but maybe she thinks the same of you. It is a two-way street, Kai. You cannot just assume that she will tell you everything while you choose to keep things to yourself."

"But, what if she hates me for it? What if she doesn't wanna go out with me after that?"

"That is a risk you will have to take, Kai. A relationship is built on trust and on honesty. I may be an old man, but I know that the strongest relationships are also the most sincere. Look at your brothers, Kai. Would you hide anything from them?"

"Of course not, Sensei, they're like my best friends," the red ninja stated matter-of-factly.

"And what makes Sam any different?"

Kai paused. "I don't know…"

"It's because you fear you have something to lose. You have only known Sam for a few weeks now, and you are afraid that by being open with her, you will reveal the things about yourself that you think she may not like, like the fact that there was someone before her."

Kai could not muster up a decent response to his teacher's remark. "I mean, how would you feel if you found out some girl liked another guy before you?"

"I would be disappointed, yes. A tad resentful maybe."

Kai folded his arms impatiently. "And how do you think Sam would react if I told her about Skylor?"

Sensei stroked his beard. "It is hard to say," he answered. "But what I do know is that you cannot keep it from her if it is bothersome enough that you stopped speaking to her because of it. Would you want her keeping something similar from you?"

Kai shook his head. "No, Sensei, I wouldn't like it at all."

"Then I think you know what you need to do," Sensei said, taking another sip of his tea.

"But, what if—"

"Kai, if Sam truly is your friend, she will not be deterred if you are honest with her. Especially since I sense you have made your choice already."

Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "H-how did you know that?"

Sensei flashed his pupil a knowing look; the corners of his mouth twitched slightly upwards.

"A sensei's intuition," he replied, but did not elaborate. "Anyways, I hope that in the future you will come to me if there is a problem, rather than missing out on training and falling farther behind."

The red ninja bowed his head respectfully. "Yes, Sensei, I will. I-I'll do anything you ask of me." He was just thankful his teacher was no longer upset with him.

"Hmm, now that I think about it, we are running low on a few things," the older man thought aloud. "Kai, would you mind going to the grocery store to pick up a few items?"

Kai tensed hearing the words grocery store, but seeing how generous the martial arts teacher was being about him skipping out on training, he was more than willing to fulfill his sensei's request.

"Yes, Sensei, I would be happy to."

"Very good," Sensei said. He then reached into the pocket of his gi and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Kai.

"Here are the list of things I would like you to get," his teacher said. "The list is not very long, but if you could acquire these items, I would greatly appreciate it."

"No problem, Sensei," Kai said. "There are a few things I would like to get myself, just to make it up to Sam."


	62. Chapter 62

**Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated. I've just been having a lot of stuff going on lately. Anyways, enjoy, and plan on an update from me soon!**

"Yeah, that's it!" Lloyd encouraged as he watched Sam throw a punch at the punching bag.

It had been a while since she had used the punching bag—not since the incident where she had hurt her shoulder, so Lloyd had decided, with careful consideration, that she should practice her fighting skills again. And since they had taken a walk earlier that morning, Lloyd felt they needed to get some actual training done.

Beads of sweat dripped down Sam's forehead. For once it felt good to hit something. She could guess that it was because she was frustrated, and she wasn't sure what to do. Kai hadn't had a meaningful conversation with her in three whole days, and no matter what she did, the red ninja refused to talk to her.

Throwing one last punch at the bag, Sam sighed in relief and took a seat on the bench.

"Hey, that was pretty good," Lloyd said, taking a seat next to her. "Your form has really improved."

"That's good," she breathed. Normally she didn't get so fatigued from punching the bag, but Lloyd had really pushed her today. Plus, she had wanted to get rid of some extra nervous energy she had been carrying since Saturday.

She was silent for another minute or so. Lloyd studied her as struggled to catch her breath. From her expression, he could tell something was up.

"You okay?" he asked. Subconsciously, he had worried on occasion Sam would exhaust herself and end up collapsing on the ground, therefore he wanted to make sure that it was something emotional and not physical.

Almost immediately he had his answer.

"I just don't get it," Sam mumbled, shaking her head. "I haven't done anything wrong, and yet he's still not talking to me." She could feel a lump in her throat forming as her eyes began to water.

Not wanting to make a mess of herself in front of the green ninja, Sam took a moment to regain her composure before continuing.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Maybe it would be better if I just found somewhere else to live."

Lloyd's eyes widened. He knew she had been upset with Kai, but not the extent that she had considered moving out.

"No, no, no, don't say that Sam," he said, scooting a little closer to her. "Kai may be not be acting the best, but that doesn't mean the rest of us don't like hanging out with you."

He saw Sam wipe a tear from her eye, and suddenly he found himself reaching out to her, using his hand to force her to look at him.

It was wrong of him to even be consoling her like this. They were so close, he could practically hear her breathing, which had become shallow and uneven, as if she truly was about to cry. He knew that the gesture might have been too forward, but he was sick of Kai's behavior, and he hated seeing Sam getting hurt in the process.

"We'd miss you, Sam," he said, gazing into her eyes. "I'd miss you."

It was true. Who else would he play video games on the weekend when Cole and the others actually decided to be ambitious or do something? Or who else would he spend his time training? To be honest, Sam's presence had made his life a little more interesting, and had even helped take his mind off his father at times. If she left, he'd be sitting there feeling sorry for himself all over again. And besides those things, he admitted that maybe he had feelings for her. Since their last training session, he remembered how he had felt when she smiled at him. Lloyd did not have any experience with girls whatsoever—his duties as a ninja and his crazy childhood, plus attending an all-boys boarding school had prevented him from having much interaction with females—and he was beginning to think that maybe this was what it felt like to have a crush on someone.

The air that surrounded them became completely still. Sam would've noticed earlier, but she had been too busy trying to quell her own emotions from spilling out that the way Lloyd was looking at her was…different than it had been before. Behind those emerald green eyes was a certain fondness that extended beyond just friendship.

Lloyd's hand began to feel cool as the heat in her cheeks rose. Unlike the other times they had come in contact during training, he still hadn't pulled away.

"Sam, there's something I have to tell you…"

* * *

Kai made his way back to the Bounty, shopping bags in hand, quietly whistling to himself. He was feeling particularly good as he had found the perfect thing to make up to Sam: a bouquet of flowers with note saying he was sorry for acting so horribly towards her. Needless to say, he felt pretty proud for coming up with the idea. He just hoped that she would accept it.

Strolling through the front door, Kai set the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter, taking his sweet time, silently rehearsing what he was going to say to her.

While he carefully took out the bouquet of flowers, it dawned on him that the Bounty was awfully quiet.

I wonder where the others went.

He peered out onto the deck and saw Cole, Jay, and Zane sitting on the floor cross-legged, along with their teacher.

After a few seconds of debate, Kai decided to go to the deck and let Sensei know he had completed the task.

As he walked out onto the deck, his brothers' turned their heads, while keeping their eyes closed. The red ninja slowly approached them, clearing his throat in the process.

"Is that you, Kai?" Jay asked. "Hey, it worked! I was thinking about Kai, and then he came!"

"It's meditation, Jay, it's not telepathy," Cole grumbled, who also had his eyes shut. It was impossible to concentrate when you had the ninja of lightning as a friend.

"Quiet, you two," the martial arts teachers hushed them. "Meditation takes complete focus." Sensei then opened one of his eyes to see Kai standing in front of him.

"Ah, I see you have returned."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, and I got all the stuff you wanted."

"Thank you, Kai. Would you care to meditate with us?'

The red ninja raised a brow as he observed his teammate's "meditating". Jay was swaying back and forth, humming softly to himself. Cole's face was twisted into an expression of annoyance, the opposite of being relaxed. And Zane looked as though he wasn't breathing.

"Uh, no thanks, Sensei. I was going to go apologize to Sam in a minute anyways."

"Oh, yay, you're gonna apologize to her!" Jay cheered, eyes still shut. "I knew you were gonna make it up to her eventually!"

"It's about time!" Cole said. "Considering you haven't spoken to her in like three days."

Kai sighed, feeling another pang of guilt wash over him. "Yes, Cole, I know. And I'm sorry about this morning."

"It's fine," the earth ninja answered. "You just go get her, tiger."

"Yes, Kai, go do what you need to do," Sensei urged. "It's been too long since I've had some peace and quiet on this ship."

Secretly, Sensei had hoped that meditation would get his energetic pupils to calm down a bit, which clearly was not working out.

The red ninja nodded obediently. "Yes, Sensei."

However, before he turned to go back inside, he noticed that someone, or, more specifically, someone, was missing.

"Where's Lloyd?" Kai asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"Lloyd said he had some things to take care of," Sensei explained. "What those things are I cannot say, for he did not tell me."

"Weird," Kai muttered. Then again, Lloyd had always been kind of kept to himself. "Wonder what's up with him?"

However, thoughts of Lloyd quickly fleeted from the red ninja's conscience as he re-centered his attention towards apologizing to Sam.

He went back inside and grabbed the flowers off the kitchen counter before proceeding down the hall towards her room.

That was when he heard voices coming from inside the training room. The door was shut, and there was no peephole, therefore, he could not see who was in there. He pressed his ear to the door, and that's when he heard a female voice speak.

"I just don't get it," a voice said. The voice was muffled, and Kai could barely make out what was being said, but it was clear that the voice belonged to Sam.

"I haven't done anything wrong, and yet he's still not talking to me."

Another surge of guilt hit him, hurting him more than when Cole had criticized him a couple minutes ago. He really had hurt her. He recognized the tone of her voice, reminding him of the time she had almost broke down in tears at the grocery store when she had told him she had no place to live for the summer.

Kai debated whether he should open the door and apologized to her now, but thought that maybe she was talking to her roommate and the phone, and he didn't want to interrupt. Plus, she might think he that was eavesdropping on her.

He heard her sigh. "I don't know…maybe it would be better if I just found somewhere else to live."

Kai's eyes widened, almost banging his head on the door in shock. She was actually considering moving out because of him. He was so disgusted with himself. But that was not the only surprise.

"No, no, no, don't say that Sam."

"Lloyd?!" Kai exclaimed softly. Why was Lloyd in there?

He heard some shuffling, followed by Lloyd's voice again.

"Kai may be not be acting the best, but that doesn't mean the rest of us don't like hanging out with you."

The red ninja snorted. His brother really had faith in him, didn't he? Again, there was silence before the conversation continued.

"We'd miss you, Sam. I'd miss you."

Instantly, the words struck Kai oddly. Why was Lloyd talking to her like that? And why was his brother making him sound like he was the bad guy?

At this point, his ear was pressed so hard against the door that it hurt. It just didn't make sense to him. Lloyd and Sam were never good friends, at least when they all hung out and had meals together. Something was up, and he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.

"…there's something I have to tell you."

Okay, something was definitely going on. Straining his ear to listen, Kai could no longer make out what they were saying. The curiosity was really starting to eat at him.

After a minute or two of whispering, Kai was beginning to get a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. What did his green-clad teammate need to tell her so badly?

But that wasn't even the worst part. He was hurt that Sam and Lloyd were talking about him in such a secretive way. Sensei had told Kai that Lloyd had gone off to 'take care of some things'. Did they have these "private talks" often? What was going on?

And the way Lloyd had talked to her. The way he had spoken to her was not how a guy conversed with a girl with whom he was merely seeking friendship. Lloyd and she had not seemed very close, and now he was making remarks about how he'd miss her, using "I" instead of the generic "we". When did this happen? When had she and Lloyd gotten so close? Had they always been close or had they just done a good job of hiding it? Had Lloyd initiated the chat? Did Sam? A heart-rending thought crossed his mind, one that suggested he was not imagining the way Lloyd spoke with her. If their "secret meetings" had started happening recently, it could only mean one thing: she had already moved on. It made sense; the secluded space, the whispering, the secrecy—Lloyd was pursuing Sam.

Anger boiled inside him. Who was Lloyd to think he could steal his girlfriend from him? Just because he was the green ninja didn't mean he was entitled to everything. He had spoken so arrogantly about getting the comic books for free, what was to stop him from thinking he could have everything, including his girl? The worst part was that he may have already succeeded.

First it was the honor of being the green ninja, now it was Sam. His heart split in two. Overcome with an intense surge of grief, the red ninja pulled away from the door. He had heard enough. Enough to know what was going on.

Flowers still in hand, he retired to his room, leaving what dignity he may have had before behind.


	63. Chapter 63

Sam set the freshly made casserole on the table as the Bounty's occupants hungrily gathered in the kitchen.

"Smells good, Sam," Cole remarked as he took a seat, eyeing the casserole with great interest.

Sam gave him a half-hearted smile before bringing a bowl of rice to the table, along with a bowl of potato salad, side dishes to the meal.

The past couple hours had been excruciatingly long for the blonde. Having to prepare this evening's dinner, she had had a couple hours alone to think, which had seemed to only make matters worse.

She glanced up to see Lloyd, who cast her a meaningful glance before sitting down at the table, followed by the others.

"Dinner looks really good, Sam," Nya said, taking a seat next to Jay, who was drooling at the sight of food.

Sam gave the raven-haired girl an appreciative smile.

"Thanks, Nya," Sam said. "Hopefully it tastes just as good, too."

"I think so," Cole said, who had not hesitated to dig in and who currently had a serving of casserole stuffed in his mouth.

Sam's eyes flickered around the table, and that's when she realized what seemed off.

Kai was missing.

Jay was the first to notice that the red ninja was not present.

"Hey, where's Kai?"

Everyone glanced up from their food and took a look around, realizing that their teammate was nowhere in sight.

"Where _is_ Kai?" Cole echoed

The blue ninja shrugged, immediately dismissing the concern.

"Eh, he's probably just taking his time in the bathroom or something," he reasoned. "That toilet paper really makes a difference in the bathrooming experience."

His remark earned a glare from the earth ninja, who was almost halfway done with his slice of casserole.

"Do you mind, Jay? I'm trying to _enjoy_ my food," he muttered. Sometimes his brother just did not know when to censor himself.

"_Anyways_," Jay began, ignoring his teammate's comment. "I'm glad you two made up, Sam," he said, reaching for the pan of casserole.

Sam was instantly struck with confusion. "Made up?" she repeated.

Jay nodded, clearly unaware of the fact that she didn't seem to know what he was referring to.

"Yeah," he answered. "You know, when he told you the real reason he was avoiding you was because he was still hung up on Skylor and then he apologized and now you two are all good…"

He was surprised that Sam was unfamiliar with what an apology was supposed to sound like.

"Wait a minute," the blonde began, shaking her head. "Avoiding me? And who's Skylor?" There was a slight bitterness to her voice as she drew the name out.

Jay froze in the midst of cutting his casserole and looked up at Sam.

"Um, you know, _Skylor_…" he said again, as though it would make a difference. "Didn't...didn't Kai mention her to you?"

Sam shook her head. "No," she answered. "And Kai never apologized to me. I haven't seen him all day."

The others who were seated the table suddenly looked up with nervous expressions, becoming aware of the uncomfortable situation.

"If they made up, Jay, then why isn't he here?" Nya asked, narrowing her eyes at her boyfriend.

The blue ninja threw his hands up in surrender, panic rising in chest. "Hey, I don't know! He told us he was going to!"

"Yeah, he came back from the grocery store a couple hours ago and said he was going to," Cole piped up, confused.

Zane frowned as well, also perplexed by situation. "I believe I do remember that."

"Then why didn't he?" Sam asked quietly, more to herself than the others. "And who's Skylor?"

Was there someone else that Kai had been seeing all along? And why did everyone else seem to know about her and not her?

Jay noticed Sam's look of distress. "Hey, everything's okay, Sam!" he encouraged, trying to cheer her up. "It was a long time ago - she's not important anymore. It's fine!"

Sam didn't answer. Instead, she wiped a tear from her eye, fighting with herself not to break down in front of the family.

But unlike her and Lloyd's training session earlier, she didn't think she could stop herself this time.

"I'm gonna have to excuse myself," she said, standing up from her seat. Giving them a small nod, Sam quickly rushed to her and Nya's room, where she could let her emotions out in peace.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, everyone was no longer eating. Jay sighed, feeling incredibly guilty about what had just ensued at the table. "I'm sorry, guys," he said, slumping in his seat. "I didn't mean to make her upset."

"You didn't know, Jay," Cole consoled him, while Nya gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "We all thought Kai had apologized to her."

On the other side of the table, Lloyd played with his casserole, deep in thought. Unlike the others, the green ninja had not been aware of Kai's intentions to apologize to her. He wondered why he hadn't. The only reason he could think of was that Kai has changed his mind for some reason; he had meant to make it up to her but then flaked out and realized he still preferred to be with Skylor. That was the only logical explanation. He knew that it wasn't merely a matter of being afraid, since he knew his brother wouldn't let a little nervousness prevent him from apologizing if he was determined to be with her.

Nonetheless, Sam was upset, and someone needed to go comfort her. Feeling a sense of duty possessing him, Lloyd abruptly stood up from his seat. "I'll go," he declared.

The others glanced up, and he saw his uncle give him a slight nod of approval before he proceeded into the hallway, stopping at Nya's door.

Standing in front of the door, he could hear small sniffles coming from inside the room. Gathering his courage, the young ninja lightly knocked on the door.

"Sam?" Lloyd asked softly. "You in there?"

When it seemed like no one would answer, the door finally opened, revealing a distraught-looking Sam. Her eyes were red and puffy, as though she had been crying for awhile.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

Sam nodded and Lloyd walked in, shutting the door behind him as she sat on her bed, wanting to pull herself together in front of the green ninja.

"Hey, Sam," Lloyd said, taking a seat next to her. "Please don't cry."

The blonde wiped a tear from her eye. "Why didn't he tell me he was seeing someone else?" she choked out.

Lloyd bit his lip awkwardly. "It's a little more complicated than that," he answered. "You see, we met Skylor during The Tournament of Elements, around the time of the Anacondrai attacks."

Sam recalled Kai mentioning The Tournament to her during their last date.

"The thing is, though," Lloyd continued, "is we haven't seen her since then."

"Then why is he still so hung up on her?" she mumbled, her eyes watering.

Lloyd shrugged. "She just made an impression on him, I guess." He intentionally left the part out that she was attractive.

"See, I heard him and Jay talking a couple nights ago. I knew he was thinking about her, but I didn't want to tell you since I thought that he would tell you later. But I guess he didn't."

Sniffling, Sam reached for a tissue on the bedside table to wipe her eyes with.

"Now, no more crying," Lloyd ordered, watching as she blotted her eyes and nose with the tissue. "And look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," he said. "It wasn't fair of me to put more stress on you by telling you I liked you."

"How is that more stress?" Sam asked, setting the tissue aside. "What's stressful is finding out the person you were planning to give your heart to already belongs to someone else."

"Hey, don't lose faith, Sam," Lloyd said, putting his arm around her. "There's always someone else out there."

His green eyes locked with hers, and her heart randomly skipped a beat.

"L-Lloyd," she started, "I know this may be wrong of me to say but since I've met you, you've been really kind to me, and I can't express how grateful I am to have you as a friend."

Lloyd chuckled. "Don't mention it," he said, waving her thanks aside. "The only thing that matters is that you're happy."

His thoughts returned to earlier when she said she was considering finding another place to live. There had to be something to convince her to stay.

"Have you decided where you're gonna go, then?" he asked.

Sam sighed, looking down at her lap. "You know, I've decided I'm not going to move out."

The green ninja's eyes widened. "You're not?" It was hard not to sound joyful.

"No, because I know it would just be too difficult to find another place. And also," she added, glancing up at him. "I'd miss you, too."

"Aw, Sam," Lloyd laughed, embracing the girl in a warm hug. She was so sweet; he just didn't understand why Kai would give her up so easily.

He relished in the strawberry scent of her hair as he held her close. Normally he wasn't into the mushy stuff, but he had to admit it was nice.

When he pulled away, he gazed into blue eyes and smiled.

"I'm glad you're staying."

On the other hand, Sam was experiencing an array of mixed emotions. She was grieving over Kai, but at the same time, she enjoyed the green ninja's company. Gauging her own reactions whenever he looked at her, or smiled at her, or even touched her, she was seriously beginning to think of him as more than just as a friend.

In the dim lighting, Sam could see his emerald-colored eyes sparkle. In the short time that she had been in the Bounty, he had been there for her, as a mentor and as a friend, more so than the rest of the ninja. He was honest, fun-loving, and kind. Wasn't that all she ever wanted in a person?

Meanwhile, Lloyd felt heat rising in his cheeks as he continued to admire her. She was looking at him in such a way that no one else had before. It scared him, but at the same time it excited him.

"Lloyd?" Sam spoke softly. "Can I tell you something?"

"What's that?" he asked, his gaze fixated on her.

"I think I found my someone else."

Lloyd's heart practically leaped out of his chest.

"Y-you think so?" he stuttered.

Sam nodded.

The air became completely still as neither of them said anything, completely captivated by the other's presence. Almost hypnotically, Lloyd reached out and brushed a loose tendril of golden hair out of her eyes, his hands grazing the side of her face in the process.

Then, slowly but gently, he cupped her face in his hands and leaned forward.

And he kissed her.

**So, things have taken a dramatic turn, haven't they? For now, at least. I know this chapter was a little mushy, but I just can't help but think it's cute that Lloyd tries comforting her. He really is a good friend. Anyways, don't forget to R &amp; R, and expect an update soon!**


	64. Chapter 64

Kai walked along the streets of Ninjago City, the same streets he had walked on when he had last seen Skylor - at least he had thought he'd seen her.

This time, though, he was set on finding her.

He had not been sure he could've handled being in the same room as Lloyd and Sam at dinner, so he decided to grab a quick meal at a local fast food chain, consisting of a burger and a side of fries. Certainly not as good as a home-cooked meal, but tonight it would suffice.

He couldn't help but feel angry about the whole ordeal. Just to think that both Lloyd and Sam were going behind his back. He had trusted both of them, his girlfriend and his teammate. It sickened him to think that maybe they had been together as long as she had been on the Bounty. But he didn't know for sure, and he probably never would, because they hadn't been honest with him, and it was unlikely that they'd be honest with him now.

Therefore, he planned to occupy himself with more worthwhile things, such as his former girlfriend, Skylor. She had last mentioned to him that she'd be running the family business, so his first instinct was to check Chen's Noodle House. Even so, the Chen's Noodle House had become a chain restaurant, so the chances of her being at the restaurant in Ninjago City at this particular time was slim. Nonetheless, he decided to go, just in case.

After walking a couple blocks, the red ninja spotted the bright, neon sign of CHEN'S NOODLE HOUSE down the street. Taking a deep breath, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way toward the restaurant, reminding himself not to be too disappointed if he didn't see her.

Pushing open the glass door, Kai instantly was overwhelmed by the vivid interior of the restaurant. It looked almost exactly the same since Lloyd, Jay, Cole, and he himself had been there before the Tournament of Elements. That had been the last time he had been there, practically a year ago.

_Has it really been that long?_ Kai thought to himself, amazed at how quickly time had passed.

He went inside, prepared to order a drink of some kind, when his attention was immediately directed towards a female with fiery red hair, with her back facing him, behind the bar counter at the center of the restaurant.

His stomach did several flips, knowing it had to be her. From what he could see of her, she looked exactly the same, with her signature ponytail and her orange-colored gi, with an apron tied around her waist. She still looked beautiful, nonetheless.

Forcing himself to walk, Kai trudged towards the counter. He was so eager to speak to her, yet so terrified all at once. What if he acted like an idiot in front of her, would she still speak to him? Did she even want to see him at all?

He told himself not to think such thoughts. _It's just Skylor, _he told himself. _Just be yourself. _But what did he act like? Who was he? Kai, his name was Kai. That much he knew.

_I can do this._

When he reached the counter, he loudly cleared his throat.

"Um, excuse me?" he asked, pretending to be a customer.

The facade, however, was soon lost when the red-haired beauty slowly turned around, revealing his former love interest.

A look of surprise flashed across her features before being replaced by a playful grin.

"What can I get you, _sir_?" she asked.

Kai let out a large breath of air, realizing he had been holding it ever since she had turned around.

"Um, just a cup of juice, please," he answered, trying to sound as casual as possible.

The girl raised a brow curiously. "That's a lot of juice in one sitting, don't you think?"

"Hey, I don't question your choices of drink, you shouldn't question mine."

He had meant for it to be playful, but his response sounded harsher than he had intended it to.

Skylor immediately picked up on the red ninja's foul mood. "Someone's a little cranky," she teased.

Kai sighed. "Yeah, it's been a rough day."

"How so?"

He bit his lip nervously, trying to come up with a decent answer. "I just...got a lot going on."

"Fair enough," Skylor shrugged as she poured the juice into a glass. She then handed the glass to Kai, who couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"There you go," she said.

"Thanks."

Kai took a couple sips of his drink before Skylor spoke again.

"My shift ends soon, so if you wanna stick around for a little while, we can chat later."

"Well, I'll be here," Kai said, casually propping his elbows on the countertop. "It's not like I got anything better to do."

Skylor smiled. "See you later, then, Hot Tamale." She gave him a wink before heading to the back of the restaurant. She disappeared into the kitchen, giving Kai a few minutes to himself.

He hadn't meant to sound so jerky when he had been speaking to her. He supposed it was a protective mechanism to prevent his feelings from being hurt, but it wasn't like she would hurt him more than Sam and Lloyd had. He just needed to get a grip. Skylor was his friend, and hopefully, after tonight, they would be one step closer to being more than friends again.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Skylor reemerged from the kitchen, no longer wearing an apron.

"I see you decided to stay," she said, taking a seat next to him at the bar top.

Kai jumped, hearing her voice cut through dead silence of the restaurant. He realized that had dozed off for the last ten minutes or so.

"Uh, yeah, of course I did. Anything for you, Skylor."

Skylor smiled, eyeing the empty glass Kai had left in front of him.

"Want a refill?" she asked.

It took a moment for Kai to process what she was asking before shaking his head.

"No thanks, I'm good. I think that's enough sugar for one day."

Another moment of silence passed before Skylor spoke again.

"So what made you decide to come in tonight?" she asked.

Kai's face reddened in embarrassment. He certainly wasn't going to tell her the real reason why he had ventured out so late at night.

"I got bored, you know? My teammates have been getting to me a bit, and I just thought that maybe I needed a change of scenery for a little while." At least that was partially true.

Skylor nodded. "I know what you mean."

"So, how have you been?" he asked quickly, hoping to keep up the conversation.

"Pretty good," Skylor answered. "Been making lots of money in the business, more than my father ever made."

"Hey, good for you!" Kai said, giving her a light punch in the arm. "Showing your dad who the real winner of the family is."

Skylor rolled her eyes at the mention of her father. "Yeah, I was under my father's control my life practically. But now that he's gone, I have my own life. I actually have plans for the future."

"What kind of plans?" Kai asked curiously.

"Well, first, I'm planning to expand the noodle franchise to at least twenty more locations in Ninjago. It's already making tons of money, so I thought 'Hey, why not make it bigger while business is booming?'"

"Hey, that's reasonable," Kai commented.

"And second," Skylor continued. "I'm planning to settle down. Move out of my apartment and into a new house. Get married and have kids, you know, the typical civilian lifestyle."

The word civilian instantly reminded Kai of Sam. Did she have a similar plan too?

"Yeah, I wouldn't know much about that…" Kai said, his face reddening at the thought of Skylor having kids. "I am a ninja, after all, so it's gonna be awhile before I even consider getting married and, err, having kids."

Skylor laughed at the red ninja's bashfulness. "That's too bad," she said "You'd make a great husband."

"Y-You think so?" he stammered. His face felt so hot, he swore it was as red as a tomato by now.

"Of course. Would I lie about something like that?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "No, I guess not."

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So, anyways, you, uh, come here often?" he asked, trying to redirect the conversation. "I know you're spread out now with all the other restaurants."

"Yeah, I try to come here at least once a week, usually in the evenings. Lately I've been coming here on Wednesdays."

_Wednesdays_. Kai made a mental note, thinking it might be useful later.

"How are the others?" Skylor asked.

Again, Kai tried avoiding the subject. "They're good, I guess. Cole still eats like it's his last meal, Jay talks nonstop 24/7, Zane is quiet, and Lloyd…" He paused. "...Is doing better now. A _lot _better since he lost his father."

"That's good," Skylor commented.

"Oh, and my sister keeps revamping the Bounty. Every day there's a new upgrade."

"Sounds like your family's doing really well."

"Some more than others," Kai remarked, but did not elaborate. "So when are you coming to visit the Bounty?"

Skylor was slightly taken aback by his forwardness but didn't let it show.

"I didn't know you wanted me to come visit."

"Of course I do!" Kai exclaimed. "The others would love it!"

"Would they?" Skylor questioned.

"Yeah, we all miss you, Skylor! Come on, just one visit wouldn't hurt, right?"

"I don't know, I am pretty busy…" she trailed off.

"Everyone deserves a break, especially you."

The ninja of amber thought for a moment. "Well, I am off Saturday night," she said.

"Perfect!" Kai said. "Saturday it is."

**So, Kai seems pretty intent on getting Skylor to visit the Bounty. Wonder what complications that'll bring... Anyways, enjoy, and don't forget to R &amp; R!**


	65. Chapter 65

"Yeah, Saturday sounds good," Sam said into the phone the next afternoon. "I'll see you then. Okay, bye."

As soon as she hung up the phone, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her.

"Who was that?" a male voice asked.

Sam turned around to see Lloyd walk into the control room.

"That was Brooke," she answered. "Apparently, her parents are planning to stay in Ninjago City for the weekend. So she called to see if she could come over Saturday."

"Ah, I'm sure Cole will be happy about that," Lloyd chuckled. "He practically mumbles her name in his sleep."

Sam laughed. "It'll be good for them to meet. Brooke hasn't been seeing anyone for almost a year now, and I can tell she's tired of riding the single train."

"Plus, it'll get Cole off our backs for a while," Lloyd added. "I don't know how many times he's been close to blowing our Spinjitzu training."

Sam especially recalled the incident at breakfast a couple days ago when the earth ninja found Lloyd and her eating breakfast after their morning walk.

"Yeah, I can see that," she chuckled, knowing Cole had a reputation for being loud.

"So, uh, Sam," Lloyd began, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something with me today. You know, like a date."

Sam glanced at the clock and saw that it was already four-thirty.

"Sure, Lloyd, I'd love to," she said.

The green ninja smiled, relieved that she had accepted his invitation. "Cool. I was thinking we could grab an early dinner somewhere and take a walk around the park. If that's okay with you."

Sam gave him an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, that'd be nice," she said. "Just let me get changed real fast, then I'll be ready to go."

She had barely returned to the Bounty from work when her roommate had called to discuss plans for the weekend. Therefore, she hadn't had time to change out of her work attire, and while it looked nice, it wasn't exactly the most comfortable.

Lloyd nodded. "Okay. How about I meet you in the living room in, let's say, ten minutes?"

"Sounds good," she said, smiling as she headed to her room. It was going to be nice to enjoy, for the first time in several evenings, a stress-free dinner with only pleasant company around.

* * *

"Socket wrench. Check. Screwdriver. Check. Flashlight?"

The samurai scanned the floor for a flashlight, but unfortunately it was not in her line of vision.

"Hey, Jay," Nya said, turning to her boyfriend. "Can you hand me the flashlight?"

"Sure thing, Nya," Jay replied as he rummaged the toolbox sitting on the table for the missing flashlight. "Here it is."

He handed the tool to Nya, who began using the flashlight to peer inside the Bounty's main computer.

"It's really dusty in here," the samurai commented. "Maybe that's why the systems have been running slow."

While Nya was checking out the computer, Jay looked around the room, his thoughts wandering to his teammates.

"Speaking of slow, where is Lloyd? Haven't seen him since training ended."

Nya frowned. She knew the rest of the boys were in the living room, including her brother, but she hadn't seen Lloyd since earlier that morning.

"Not sure. He said he had to run a few errands with Sam."

Jay glanced at the clock. "Those errands sure are taking a long time. They've been gone for over an hour."

The raven-haired girl shrugged and continued working on the computer, before she was struck with a startling thought.

"Hey, Jay," she said, stopping what she was doing to face the blue ninja. "You don't think Lloyd has feelings for Sam, do you?"

Jay tilted his head curiously at the random question. "Um, not that I've noticed."

Still, Nya wasn't convinced.

"I mean, don't you think it's funny that all of a sudden they've been spending all this time together? First it was the videogames last Saturday, then last night after dinner, and now the long errands today."

Jay shrugged. He supposed he hadn't thought too much about it, since they all were friends with Sam. "Maybe."

"Think about it. He started spending time with her _after_ Kai began acting like an idiot and avoiding her," Nya huffed. "I am so mad at my brother! Sam is so good for him, but he just had to go chase Skylor again."

The amber ninja's name put a frown on Jay's face as he remembered that it was he who had mentioned her yesterday at dinner, which had not helped the situation. In fact, he believed he had made it much worse.

"I'm sorry I said anything last night about Skylor," he said, hanging his head in shame. "I was so sure he had apologized to Sam. Kai said-right in front of us-that was on his way to do that. I-I just wish I knew what happened."

Nya patted her boyfriend's shoulder. "Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm going to have a little talk with him myself. I wanna talk some sense into him."

Jay grinned. "Well, if anyone can do that, you certainly can," he said. "I mean, come on, you're his _sister. _If you can't get to him, I don't know who else could."

"Which is why I need to take matters into my own hands," she declared. "If this keeps up, this ship isn't gonna stay afloat for much longer."

"Uh, I hope you mean that figuratively," Jay chuckled nervously. "'Cause if you didn't, that would be very, very bad."

"Of course I do," the samurai stated matter-of-factly. "Not to brag, but I've been holding the Bounty together for quite a long time. It's not gonna fall apart as long as I'm around."

"And I believe that," the blue ninja said, smiling. "What would we do without you, Nya?"

"Now that's a question no one wants to know the answer to," Nya teased. "But, anyways, I will talk to Kai, and hopefully we can get this mess straightened out."


	66. Chapter 66

"This is some good steak, Zane," Jay said as he stuffed a forkful of meat into his mouth.

"Why, thank you, Jay," the nindroid answered. "Since we all have been having an off-week, I thought I would make something special to raise our spirits."

"Well, you certainly raised my appetite," Cole joked, eagerly reaching for another slab of steak.

Jay, Zane, Cole, Nya, Sensei, and Kai sat at the dinner table, enjoying the meal their teammate had prepared for the evening. Everyone was aware that Lloyd and Sam had been out running errands for the past couple hours or so, and the green ninja had privately told his robotic friend not to wait up for them for dinner. Having said that, the dining room felt emptier than normal, and everyone was trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.

Everyone was paying special attention to Kai, who chewed his steak in silence. Jay observed his brother. He didn't appear to be particularly hostile or cold like he had been earlier, rather, it was more of a peaceful quietness.

"So, Kai, what did you end up doing last night?" Jay asked, attempting to be friendly with his teammate. The others wondered where the red ninja had gone last night, but had been likely too afraid to ask, in fear he would blow up like he had done at breakfast the previous day.

Kai slowly glanced up from his meal to find his brother watching him. "Who, me?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah, you!" Jay exclaimed. "We're all just curious about what you've been up to."

The red ninja looked around the room, avoiding the gazes of his sister, his teammates, and most importantly his teacher.

"Yeah, I went out last night. Grabbed a burger from Burger Lord, and just hung out downtown for a while," he explained, hoping his explanation would satisfy them.

As usual, Nya was suspicious. "Well, we're glad you enjoyed yourself," she said, glancing at Jay, who gave her a subtle shrug.

Kai leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head in the process. "Sure did," he declared proudly.

"And you seem to be in a better mood," Jay remarked, tilting his head curiously at his teammate's attitude.

"Well, walking downtown gave me, say, a fresh perspective."

"And what sort of perspective is that?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kai grinned, seeming unfazed by his teammate's skepticism. "So while I was downtown, I bumped into Skylor…"

"Skylor?!" Nya gasped, eyes widening at the mention of her brother's former girlfriend.

The red ninja nodded. "And I convinced her to come visit Saturday night."

"Oh, man…" Jay uttered, who was practically rendered speechless by the news. So much for setting his teammate straight.

"So how exactly did you come across her, brother?" the samurai asked, just as surprised as her boyfriend.

"I saw her in Chen's Noodle House," Kai responded casually, leaving out the fact that he had actually been looking for her. "Didn't look like it was busy so I stopped in to say hi. Apparently she works there on Wednesdays."

"And how is Skylor?" Sensei asked from across the table. Unlike the rest of his pupils, he did not wear his surprise on his face, but honestly he was rather curious.

"She's doin' good," Kai answered. "She's making lots of money, and she's even planning to open up a few more restaurants in Ninjago."

Sensei took a sip of his tea. "Sounds like you had quite the conversation."

The red ninja ninja shrugged. "Yeah, well, what can I say? Just old friends catching up," he said.

Jay and Nya exchanged nervous looks. If Skylor was coming to the Bounty on Saturday, that might kill any chance of Kai and Sam rekindling their relationship. Because of Jay, Sam knew about Skylor, and he doubted that was water under bridge by now. As far as Sam was concerned, Skylor and Kai were still an item, and the redhead's presence on the Bounty would no doubt increase tension amongst the couple.

While the group was letting the news sink in, they heard the sound of the door open.

"We're back," Lloyd announced as he and Sam walked into the kitchen.

"Hey guys," Nya said. That's when she noticed the two weren't carrying any bags. "How were the errands?"

"They were good," Lloyd answered, but did not elaborate.

The green ninja then turned towards Kai, who had returned to silently eating his dinner.

"Hey, Kai, haven't seen you in awhile," he chuckled.

Kai glanced up, his eyes shifting from his brother to his girlfriend.

"I've had a lot on my mind," he stated coolly.

The corners of Sam's mouth twitched slightly downwards at the brunette boy's words. It wasn't too hard to guess what he had been thinking about the past couple of days.

Lloyd frowned as well. He noticed Sam shift uncomfortably at his teammate's comment, and knew that she probably had been painfully reminded of Kai's choice.

"Tell them the news, Sam," he lightly nudged her, hoping that relaying the good news would distract her.

The blonde's eyed suddenly lit up, remembering what she had been meaning to tell the others as of this afternoon.

"Oh, yeah. Hey everyone, Brooke is going to be in town this weekend."

Cole practically jumped up on the table. "Wait, Brooke's coming?!"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, she called this afternoon and asked me if she could come over on Saturday."

Unbeknownst to the others, Jay and Nya shared another look of alarm.

"Really?" Cole asked excitedly. Suddenly, the earth ninja turned to their teacher. "Come on, Sensei, you gotta let Brooke come over! Pretty please?"

Sensei stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be alright. Is she planning to stay the night?" he asked, turning to Sam.

Sam shook her head. "No, Sensei. Her father is coming here on a business trip, so her family is staying at a hotel in the city."

"Mhm, I see," the martial arts teacher answered. "Then I would say...yes, she can visit."

"Woohoo!" Cole cheered, raising his arms above his head. "She's finally coming! Can you believe it?!"

Everyone else seemed to crack a smile at the earth ninja's enthusiasm, except for Kai, whose expression remained stoic.

"Maybe Brooke should be informed of the additional guest we are having on Saturday," Sensei added, causing Cole to freeze.

The air suddenly became heavy as everyone but Lloyd and Sam shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

Sam tilted her head curiously. "Additional guest?" she repeated.

"Yeah, who else are we having on Saturday?" Lloyd asked, frowning. "Is my mom coming over?"

Sensei shook his head. "While you two were running your errands, Kai informed us that he has invited Skylor to visit Saturday."

Lloyd's jaw dropped. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. "B-but we haven't seen her since the Tournament of Elements," he said. "Where was she? How'd he even find her?"

"Apparently she works at Chen's Noodle House downtown on Wednesdays," Sensei explained. "She is not around very often but it just so happened that Kai found her at the right time."

Meanwhile, as Sensei was explaining Skylor's whereabouts to Lloyd, Kai avoided Sam's gaze, which was now overcome with shock and utter disbelief. How could Kai even entertain the idea of inviting his former girlfriend on the Bounty, knowing that she would be around? Did he just assume that since their relationship wasn't going anywhere that'd it be okay to rub it in her face that there was someone better than her?

"What time is Brooke coming, Sam?" Sensei asked, breaking her from her train of thought.

"Uh, she said noon would be a good time," she answered, struggling to maintain her composure.

The martial arts teacher nodded. He sensed something was off but did not bother to bring it everyone's attention.

"Very well. Noon it is," he said. "Well, I am looking forward to meeting her."

"Me too," Cole piped up.

However, the rest of the ninja were so caught up in their own thoughts to be amused by the earth ninja's antics.

Jay and Nya continued to communicate with each other silently, both sharing a sense of dread for the upcoming weekend, and even a bigger sense of dread for Kai and Sam's relationship, which at this point, looked like it was not going to be patched up any time soon. On top of that, Brooke would be added to the mix, which was no doubt a recipe for disaster, a giant waiting mess waiting to happen.

Needless to say, they were sure of one thing: It would be one messy Saturday.


	67. Chapter 67

Cole stood in front of the bathroom mirror, furiously trying to make himself look presentable for Sam's roommate. He knew that Brooke was coming at noon, so he had about an hour to wait until her arrival.

The past few days had been the longest days he had ever experienced in his lifetime. While Jay and Nya, and even Sam, had been silently dreading this particular day, the earth ninja was quite excited.

However, there was a part of him that couldn't ignore the pain that his family had endured within the last week. His thoughts turned to his teammate and to their current houseguest, who seemed to have completely abandoned their friendship. He wasn't exactly sure of the reason. All he knew that Skylor was coming to visit, and that probably left some hard feelings between Kai and Sam.

His internal monologue was quickly interrupted by the sound of someone pounding on the bathroom door.

"Come on, Cole, I gotta go!" Jay exclaimed, banging on the door.

The earth ninja scowled. His brother had the bladder of a kitten. "Use the hall one!" he shouted back.

"Can't! Lloyd's using it!"

Looking into the mirror, Cole sighed, smoothing out his hair one last time before opening the door, revealing his blue-clad teammate, whose knees were tucked inward like a small child.

"Finally!" Jay squealed before rushing into the restroom, slamming the door behind him.

Cole rolled his eyes at his brother's antics as he left the ninjas' bedroom and ventured into the living room, where he found Kai and Zane sitting quietly on the couch.

"So, you guys got any plans for today?" the earth ninja asked his friends, taking a seat in one of the beanbag chairs.

Kai glanced up from his lap and smirked.

"No, but I'm sure you got some."

"Indeed," Zane added, observing his teammate. "It appears you have been preparing for our visitor by dressing in more appropriate attire."

Like the rest of the ninja, Cole had removed his uniform and had put on more casual clothes. His attire consisted of a grey hoodie with black sweat pants, which was pretty much the only civilian outfit he owned.

"Indeed I have, Zane," Cole chuckled. "Wouldn't want our guest to feel uncomfortable with a bunch of ninja running around."

"Luckily, that doesn't bother Skylor," Kai grinned, casually propping his feet on the table. "She's used to us. Plus, having a psychotic, snake-worshipping father probably helped her from getting weirded out by anything."

"Yep, that'd probably do it," the earth ninja agreed. Truth was, he was getting tired of hearing about Skylor, but didn't make any comment.

Their conversation was interrupted when the ninja heard the sound of a door open, and moments later, Lloyd walked into the living area.

"Hey Lloyd," Cole said, greeting his teammate, who was also dressed in casual attire, which consisted of a green hoodie and grey-colored jeans.

"Hey guys," Lloyd answered, passing through the kitchen. The green ninja went into the pantry and dug around for a minute or so before he pulled out a bag of chips. "Hey, have any of you guys seen Sam?" he asked, turning to the others.

Kai immediately narrowed his eyes at the younger ninja. "No, what's it to you?"

Lloyd shrugged. "Just thought I'd ask, since _I'm_ the only one who seemed to notice she's not here."

"She is probably in her room," Zane declared, completely oblivious to the tension between the two brothers.

"Well, tell her to come out, 'cause I need some pointers," Cole said, glancing down at his outfit with a look of utter despair.

Lloyd couldn't help but chuckle at the earth ninja's little dilemma. "Okay, I'll go get her," he said. "Also check to see if she's okay."

As the green ninja disappeared, Kai folded his arms in annoyance. "Why is he so protective of her all of a sudden?" he grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for his brothers to hear it.

Cole rolled his eyes. "I don't know…" he began, but stopped himself from finishing the rest of his sentence, knowing his teammate would probably get angry.

"It is odd…" Zane remarked. "Lloyd and Sam have become very close in the past couple of days."

The earth ninja frowned. "How so?" he asked. He clearly had not noticed anything out of the ordinary lately.

"I cannot put a finger on it," the titanium ninja answered. "But he has been spending more time with her, and there appears to be a certain awareness that was not previously there."

"Such as…?" Cole asked, gesturing for his brother to continue.

"Like the fact that she was alone. If this had been a week ago, Lloyd would have not seemed to care, but clearly the thought of her being alone is unsettling to him."

Kai snorted. "Sam's perfectly fine," he said. "And I don't know why he thinks it's _his_ job to take care of her."

Again, Cole bit his lip to prevent himself from saying something he would regret. "It's anybody's guess."

Deep down, the earth ninja knew there was something funny about Lloyd's sudden interest in Sam, but immediately pushed the thought out of his head. He had more pressing concerns at the moment.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?" a voice said.

Jay walked into the living room after his pleasant bathrooming experience, feeling refreshed, and as usual, nosy about what his brothers were doing.

Cole shrugged. "Not much. Lloyd went to fetch Sam."

It would be an understatement to say that his teammate's answer did not concern him, but the blue ninja decided not to dwell on the thought for long.

"Ah. So, you excited for this afternoon?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows for emphasis.

The earth ninja fought the blush threatening to overtake his complexion. "Shut up, Jay, it's not like you ever got excited about a girl before."

"Indeed I have," Jay replied proudly. "And now she's my girlfriend. Maybe you'll be just as lucky."

Cole opened his mouth to respond with a sarcastic and somewhat degrading comment, but was interrupted when Lloyd and Sam appeared.

"Hey Sam," Jay greeted his friend. "What have you been up to?"

The blonde smiled awkwardly, well aware of a certain red ninja's presence in the room."Not much. Just getting ready for Brooke." She glanced at Kai, who frowned slightly upon meeting her gaze.

"That's funny, 'cause we were just talking about that," the blue ninja chuckled. "Though I'm sure some of us are more ready than others."

His eyes shifted to Cole, who shot his teammate a small glare in return.

"So, Sam," the earth ninja began, clearing his throat. "Is there anything I need to know about her, right this minute, so I don't screw it up right away?"

Sam thought for a moment. "I don't think so," she said. "Brooke is a very outgoing person, so she'll do most of the talking if you let her."

"Ha, that's good for Mr. Conversationalist," Jay teased his brother once more. It was well-known amongst the ninja that besides Zane, Cole was probably the man of the fewest words.

"Is she aware that we are ninja?" Zane asked curiously. Like Lloyd and Jay, he had not been present when Brooke had been informed about Sam's host family being ninja.

Sam nodded. "Oh yeah, she chewed me out big time after Cole told her I was living with you guys."

The earth ninja threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, in my defense, I had no idea that she had no idea who we were."

"I know you didn't. That was fault on my part," Sam said. "But anyways, I know you guys will like her."

Cole nodded, hoping that what Sam said was true. He glanced at the clock in the kitchen. Since he left the bathroom and had gone out into the living room, fifteen minutes had passed. Fifteen down, forty-five more minutes left to go. But who was counting?

**The day has finally come, when Cole will meet Brooke for the first time (cue dramatic music). How do you think Saturday will play out for the ninja? Will it go smoothly? As usual, don't forget to R &amp; R!**


	68. Chapter 68

Sam walked down the streets of Ninjago City, keeping her eyes peeled for her roommate.

She had made plans to meet Brooke at the bus stop around ten minutes to noon, with the intention of accompanying her back to the Bounty. Not that it would've been difficult for Brooke to find a huge ship anchored to dry land by herself, but Sam figured it'd be better, and safer, if her roommate had some guidance. Plus, she wanted to have some girl-talk, which she sorely missed after the events that had recently occurred on the ship. There was always Nya to talk to, but sometimes it was uncomfortable talking about Kai with her. She was his sister, after all.

Sam was just about to cross the crosswalk when she spotted the brunette on the other side of the street, standing patiently in front of the bench of the bus stop on the corner. She was sporting her signature white sunglasses, along with a casual but cute outfit, which consisted of a blue tank top and white shorts, all while holding a large turquoise-colored handbag. Needless to say, she wasn't hard to find.

The brunette turned her head and immediately spotted Sam crossing the street, and began frantically waving at her.

"Sammie!" she called out as Sam weaved her way through the crowd.

Upon reaching her, Brooke ran up to give her roommate a hug.

"Sam! I missed you so much!" she squealed.

"I missed you too!" Sam answered.

When she pulled away, Brooke's eyes were abnormally wide.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm going to meet the ninja!" she exclaimed.

The blonde smiled. "I can't wait for you to meet them, too," she said. "Especially Cole, he's really excited about meeting you."

A faint blush dusted across the brunette's cheeks.

"Really?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, not to put him on the spot or anything, but he's pretty excited."

With that thought in mind, she pointed in the direction they would be heading.

"The Bounty is this way."

Brooke nodded, and the two began their journey back to the ship, where the ninja eagerly awaited their guest's arrival.

* * *

Cole glanced at the clock for the tenth time as he sat in the living room with his teammates, waiting for the college girls to return.

It was 12:09, and Sam and Brooke still hadn't shown up yet. In general, he was getting really antsy. He bounced his leg nervously on the couch, hoping to get rid of some of the jitters before Brooke came. The last thing he wanted to do was to come across as a bumbling idiot.

While the earth ninja probably had the most experience with women, besides Jay, since he had attended the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts prior to being a ninja, he couldn't help but feel anxious about meeting her. At the school, he had been the one who was pursued most of the time by the female students, but in this case, it was he who was doing the pursuing.

On the other side of the room, Jay noticed his teammate's fidgeting and constant looking at the clock. The signs were subtle, but he could tell his brother was nervous.

"Relax, Cole, you'll be fine," Jay assured him.

The earth ninja, glanced up, hearing his name being addressed, and his eyes connected with his teammate, who gave him a reassuring smile.

"She will like you, I promise."

"I know that," Cole retorted, pretending to be annoyed by his blue-clad brother. He didn't care to express his emotions too much, so when he felt like his teammates were trying to read him, he felt slightly defensive.

"Yeah, what's there not to like?" Kai said. "You're a good-looking guy. Plus, you can eat, breathe, and sleep-you're the total package."

The earth ninja narrowed his eyes at his brother, whom he knew was merely teasing him.

"Haha, very funny," he stated dryly.

"It is true you possess many redeeming qualities," Zane added, being serious."Not only are you the ninja of earth, which symbolizes your physical strength, but also the strength within you."

The others nodded in agreement. None of them could have better put such a statement.

Cole smiled, appreciating his friend's support.

"Thanks, buddy," he said. "That means a lot."

As soon as the words left his mouth, they heard the sound of the door open. Everyone turned their heads to see Sam walk in, along with a tall brunette girl trailing behind her.

"Hey guys," Sam said, greeting her friends.

Cole's eyes drifted behind the blonde, and spotted the brunette, who, from what he could tell, was wearing the same white sunglasses he had seen in the picture Sam had showed him. It was definitely her.

The college student moved to the side to reveal her roommate, a tall, slender girl with long brown hair, carrying a large handbag and wearing a pair of tiny white shorts, exposing a set of lean and tanned legs. The sight was so surreal for Cole, as she was even more gorgeous in person.

"This is my friend, Brooke," Sam said, motioning towards her roommate, who waved at the group.

"Hey, everyone," she said, taking off her sunglasses and placing them on her head.

The ninja immediately got up from their seats to greet their new guest, including Cole, who appeared dazed as he followed his brothers to the foyer.

"Close your mouth, Cole. You might catch flies," Kai teased as he walked past his brother.

As usual, Jay was the first one to introduce himself.

"Hey, Brooke. How's it going?" the blue ninja said, shaking her hand frantically. "I'm Jay. I'm sure you've heard a lot about me."

Brooke giggled at the brown-haired boy's antics. "I sure have," she said.

Zane was the second one to introduce himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Brooke," the nindroid said, bowing his head in greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, too," the brunette replied cheerfully. She was glad Sam had given her the heads-up that Zane was a robot.

"Lloyd," the blonde boy said as he outstretched a hand. "We're glad to have you."

"'Sup, Brooke," Kai said, nudging past the younger ninja.

Brooke shook the spiky-haired brunette's hand and smiled. She recognized the name.

"Nice to meet you, Kai." She could see why Sam liked him.

And, last but not least, trailing behind the others was a male with dark, shaggy hair, who approached the brunette.

"I'm Cole."

Brooke felt a small blush creep across her cheeks as she met the young man's gaze. His eyes were a deep shade of brown, mixed with other earthy tones.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cole."

Talking on the phone had been a lot different, since she hadn't spoken with him face-to-face-she had only recognized him by the sound of his voice. But now that they were in person, she could see that he was indeed very handsome.

"Oh, we need to give Brooke a tour of the ship!" Jay exclaimed.

Cole reluctantly dropped the brunette's gaze before the group proceeded to follow the blue ninja around the ship.

First, Jay led them down the hall into the control room.

"This is where we steer the ship," he said, motioning towards the wheel. "And this," he said, pointing at the telephone, "is called a telephone. This is how Cole was able to keep in touch with you. He depends on this technology a lot," he explained, earning a glare from the earth ninja.

Brooke couldn't help but giggle at the blue ninja's antics. Cole's features softened, seeing that she was enjoying herself, even if it was because of his teammate's poor attempt at humor.

The rest of the group chuckled, not because they found their friend's joke funny, but it reminded them of the first time Jay had given the tour, when Sam had first come to the Bounty. Even Kai was hit with a bit of nostalgia, which quickly passed after observing how close Lloyd and Sam were as they stood in front of him.

After showing her the bedrooms, the guest bathroom (noting that they actually had good toilet paper now), and the kitchen, Jay finally concluded his tour.

"We have officially completed our tour," he announced with authority. "We hope to see you again on the S.S. Bounty."

And with that, he gave everyone a dramatic bow, earning several eye-rolls from his teammates.

Once the theatrics were over, the blue ninja felt his stomach rumble. It was a very loud sound, loud enough for everyone else to hear.

As several puzzled gazes rested upon him, Jay rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Hey, uh, I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda hungry."

"Me too, actually," a female voice said.

Everyone's head turned to see Nya walk into the kitchen.

"Hey Nya," Jay called out to her.

"Hey Jay. Hi everyone," the raven-haired girl replied, looking up to see her friends all gathered in the living room area. That was when she spotted a girl she didn't recognize.

"Oh, you must be Brooke," she said. "I'm Nya, Kai's sister."

"Hey," Brooke answered, giving the samurai a friendly smile. "Sammie's told me a lot about you. You fly the ship, right?"

The samurai nodded. "Yep," she stated proudly. "Well, I make sure that everything technology-based is running smoothly. I don't exactly steer the ship, but hey, that's what autopilot's for."

"Got any food, Nya?" Jay piped up. "I'm starving."

Nya thought for a moment. "Hmm, we don't have much," she replied. "We do have sandwiches. It is about lunchtime so maybe we can all have that."

Jay nodded. "Sounds good. All that tour-guiding made me hungry."

"And us exhausted," Cole added. "Seriously, did you even have to talk about _everything _on the ship?"

"Hey, it's necessary information, _Cole_," Jay retorted. "Someone's gotta do it."

"Hey, I know!" Nya exclaimed, ignoring the boys' bickering. "Why don't we have a picnic outside? It's a beautiful day, and I could sure use some vitamin D."

"Ooo, a picnic sounds fun!" Brooke said, glancing over at Cole, who, upon meeting her eyes, sharply nodded in agreement.

"Count me in."

"A picnic does sound enjoyable," Zane said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Not surprisingly, Jay was extremely enthusiastic about the idea. "Yeah, we can play games, tell jokes, ya know, do all those team-building things Sensei always wanted us to do."

"Yeah...I don't think that's _exactly_ what Sensei was talking about," Lloyd said, playfully rolling his eyes at his teammate's remark, knowing that his teacher probably had more in mind than simple "games" for team-building exercises. "But sure, a picnic sounds cool."

"Then it's settled," Nya announced. "I'll make the sandwiches, and someone can go get blankets for us to sit on."

**So the day's off to a good start, don't you think? A picnic sounds really nice actually, considering how cold the weather's been the past couple months. And Cole and Brooke have seemed to hit it off okay, despite some awkwardness, which is definitely expected, considering this is the first time they've met in person. Hope you guys are enjoying the story, and I will see you all soon!**


	69. Chapter 69

**Hey all! Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. I've just been so darn busy! Hope you are still enjoying the story, and as always, don't forget to R R! I appreciate all the support! :D**

"Hey, Cole, catch!" Jay shouted at his brother as he threw the frisbee in the earth ninja's direction.

After lunch, the gang had decided to play a game of frisbee, in order to extend the enjoyment of the nice summer day. Well, technically, it wasn't a true game of frisbee, but no one minded the casual throwing it back-and-forth, except maybe for Kai, who was always up for a little competition.

The frisbee sailed through the air, until it was caught by Cole single-handedly. To be honest, he enjoyed showing off in front of their guest. He had his ninja skills to thank for that.

Cole scanned his circle of friends before his gaze rested on the brunette college student.

"Coming at you, Brooke!" he shouted.

Brooke smiled and braced herself to catch the frisbee.

Once again, the frisbee soared through the air, and, in one quick motion, Brooke jumped and caught the disc, letting out a small squeal as she did so.

A chorus of chuckles erupted watching the girl regain her balance, flipping her long brown hair behind her shoulders in satisfaction.

"Alright, who's the next unlucky victim?" Jay joked as Brooke's eyes flickered over the circle of friends, deciding who she would pass the frisbee to.

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards into a small smirk as her gaze rested on Cole, who silently returned the grin. She couldn't throw it back to him, though, because that would be playing favorites.

"I pick...Sam!" Brooke declared. She went to aim for the blonde college student, who already had her hands prepared to catch the plastic disc.

Unfortunately, as Brooke let go of the frisbee, her fingers slipped, causing the frisbee to curve in the air, and fly towards Kai, who immediately saw the opportunity to prove his athleticism in front of his teammates. Little did he realize that Sam was still set on catching the disc.

Therefore, as the frisbee zoomed between the former couple, both Kai and Sam rushed to catch it.

"I got it!" Kai yelled, his arm outstretched and prepared to grab the frisbee.

"I got it!" Sam echoed, her eyes fixated on the disc, not watching where she was going.

Before anyone could process what was happening, Kai and Sam landed in a heap on the ground, the frisbee in neither of their hands. Being the heavier person, Kai had knocked her over and the two had tumbled, and had ended up in a rather...compromising position, with Sam sprawled out on top of the fire ninja.

Recovering from the impact, Kai felt the warmth of another person on top of him. Still lying on the ground, he opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with the blonde, who also realized who she had made contact with.

"Erm, sorry," she mumbled, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.

"Back at you," Kai answered, his eyes somewhat dazed, even though he was well aware of the circumstance.

As everyone quickly realized what had happened, the rest of the gang came running over to check on the couple.

"You okay, Sam?!" Brooke asked, her brows furrowed in worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied. Feeling extremely embarrassed, she quickly scrambled off the red ninja, not wanting to prolong the awkwardness.

"That was quite a fall you took there," Jay chuckled nervously, noticing how flustered the girl was. "Lucky Kai was there to take the edge off."

"Gee, thanks for the worry, guys," Kai grunted as he stood up, brushing the invisible dirt off his shirt, trying to preserve what dignity he had left remaining.

"No problem," Cole teased, earning a small giggle from Brooke.

Meanwhile, while the attention was focused on Kai, Lloyd had the opportunity to speak with Sam, who was still a bit shaken up from the fall.

"You okay?" he asked, taking her hand in his. His green eyes shone with concern, as he had just witnessed his brother ram into her like she was a lightweight.

"Yeah," she said. "My shoulder's a bit sore, but I'll be fine."

Lloyd gave her a slight nod, glad to hear that she wasn't badly injured.

"And on that note!" Jay raised his voice, earning everyone's attention. "Why don't we call it a day and head back inside? I hear Fist-to-Face 2 calling my name right about now!"

"Oh, it's on!" Cole exclaimed, giving his teammate a slight nudge in the ribs. He then turned to Brooke. "You wanna play?" he asked. He doubted she did, but he wanted to be polite and include her in everything he possibly could, in the short time they could spend together.

Brooke shrugged. "I don't play video games games too much anymore, but my cousin Aaron and I used to play Ninja Cart a lot," she explained. "And, not to brag, but I _always_ won."

Cole playfully raised a brow. "Always, huh? Why don't we test out that theory?"

"Ooo, I sense a challenge!" Jay shouted, finding the banter between his brother and his crush entertaining.

"Bring it on!" Brooke laughed.

The earth ninja chuckled, giving the brunette a subtle, but endearing glance. Her enthusiasm was so gosh-darn cute.

He then looked back at the others, who were still surrounding Kai after his little mishap with Sam. That had to have been insanely awkward for the both of them, in terms of their current situation. If it had been any other day, he might've given it more thought, but right now he was set on playing a round of Fist-to-Face 2 with Brooke, who appeared to be just as excited to be playing with him too, and that was his top priority.

"You coming, guys?" he asked the group.

Lloyd, Sam, Nya, Zane and Kai all exchanged looks, and then shrugged.

"Why not?" Nya said. "I'd like to see how this turns out."

Minutes later, Cole, Jay, and Brooke sat cross-legged in front of the television, with the rest of the gang lounging behind them, waiting for the game to begin.

"I call Brooke to be on my team!" Jay exclaimed.

Cole turned his head away from the screen and narrowed his eyes at his teammate. "Why does she have to be on _your_ team?" he demanded.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to play _against_ her," Jay retorted. "And anyone that plays against you is an ally of mine." He then turned to the brunette sitting on the other side of him. "Whaddya say, Brooke, ready to kick some butt?"

"Sure thing!" Brooke answered.

"You know, I like this girl," the blue ninja remarked, holding back his laughter. No one was more intent on beating Cole except him, though he thought he may have met his match with Brooke, who seemed fiercely competitive.

"But who's gonna be on my team then?" Cole asked.

"I'll join you, brother," Zane said, taking a seat next to the earth ninja. "My quick reflexes and fast reaction time will do more than suffice in this competition."

Cole grinned. "Alright, Zane, let's win this thing."

Behind the game players, the air was slightly uncomfortable amongst Kai, Sam, Lloyd and Nya, who was eyeing her brother suspiciously as he pretended to ignore Sam and Lloyd, who sat close together on the right side of the couch, with Kai sitting on the armrest on the far left.

"So when's Skylor coming?" the samurai asked her brother.

Kai slowly turned his head to meet his sister's gaze, clearly annoyed by her question.

"She didn't say when. Sometime tonight, I guess."

"Haha, good one, Brooke!" Jay cheered, interrupting the conversation, to Kai's relief. Apparently the brunette had landed a punch on Cole's avatar, causing his HP to go down dramatically.

Lloyd chuckled. "Looks like Cole is getting his butt handed to him," he said, motioning towards the television screen.

Sam laughed. "Probably because Jay has some help," she commented, observing the brunette sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Could be," Lloyd answered. "You were pretty good, too."

Memories of Sam's first time on the Bounty came flooding back to her, remembering when the green ninja had told her he knew that she had cut Kai some slack in the game. That was the very first time she and Lloyd had spoken, and he had made quite an impression on her. Right away, she could tell that he was a nice person, especially after he had told her about how great Kai was, and had told her he'd be there for her if she had a problem. Lloyd was a good brother and friend-she wished she only knew where she went wrong with Kai.

Though he acted as though he wasn't listening, the red ninja couldn't help but overhear Lloyd and Sam talking about video games, reminding him of the first time she had come to the Bounty. He remembered how excited (and embarrassed) he had been for her to meet his family. At first it had seemed like everything was going great, but now he was painfully reminded of the result of her becoming acquainted with certain family members in particular. It was easy for him to say that he still harbored feelings for someone else, someone better suited for him, but deep down he couldn't deny that when he and Sam had collided, watching the apples of her cheeks turn pink in embarrassment, he himself had become equally flustered at the close contact. While he was better at hiding his emotions than she was, he swore his heart had skipped a beat.

He cast a sidelong glance at the new couple, how their shoulders brushed against one another, how attentive they were with each other when the other was speaking, and how Sam just looked so...happy. Her lips were curled into a small smile as Lloyd began to explain the details of the game ensuing in front of them. Kai shook his head, it was almost sickening.

"Woohoo! We won!" Jay's exclamation rang throughout the living area.

The blue ninja gave Brooke a high five, then turned to Cole, who wore a look of disbelief on his face.

"How'd you guys do that? You even beat Zane! Zane!"

Jay grinned. "I don't know, maybe we just make a good team."

"And you," Cole said, turning to Brooke. "You said you didn't play video games anymore."

Brooke smiled. "I don't know...guess I still got the magic touch," she teased.

"I sense she was under-exaggerating when she said she hasn't played in a while," Zane remarked. "It appears we have been brutally defeated."

"Yeah, I noticed," the earth ninja said, narrowing his eyes at the college student, who simply laughed.

"Come on, don't be a sore loser, Cole," Brooke teased again. "You did pretty well."

At her compliment, Cole managed to crack a smile. "I call a rematch later."

"Looking forward to it," she answered, giving him a wink.

The earth ninja felt himself blush, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. He didn't understand why she had such an effect on him. No other girl had ever made him feel so unsure of himself than she had the last few hours she had been there. Not even the girls that had thrown themselves at him at the Marty Oppenheimer School had had this effect on him, and while they all had been gorgeous they just weren't his Brooke was different. Her presence just seemed to light up the room.

"So, what should we do now?" Jay asked. After all the hype from the afternoon, their options seemed limited.

Several moments of silence passed, before Brooke gasped as an idea popped into her head. "I know!" she said, her eyes widening in excitement, "You guys should show us some of your ninja moves!"

The five ninja exchanged uncertain looks. The point of today had been not to do anything ninja-related, hence the civilian attire, in order to make their guest feel more at home. But now she was asking them to act like ninja.

"I don't know…" Kai trailed off.

"We just thought that we should lay off the ninja stuff for the day…" Jay explained. "In case you thought it was weird."

Brooke frowned in confusion. "Why would I think it was weird?" she asked curiously. "Sam saw you guys, didn't she?"

"Jay bit his lip awkwardly. "Yeah, but…"

"Come on, guys, we could show her some moves," Cole piped up.

Surprised expressions flashed across everyone's faces at the earth ninja's enthusiasm. Out of all the ninja, they imagined he'd be the least likely to suggest it.

Cole stared intently at his brothers, who, after a few seconds or so, finally relented, and nodded in agreement.

"I don't see why not," Zane said.

Lloyd looked at the titanium ninja and shrugged. "I could use the exercise."

As the ninja dashed to their room to put their suits on, Cole, trailing behind the rest of the team, glanced back at Brooke, who immediately caught his gaze, and they both shared a smile.


	70. Chapter 70

"And that's how you do Spinjitzu," Zane declared as his tornado slowed to a complete stop.

For the past hour or so, each of the ninja had been taking turns showing their new guest some of their signature "ninja" moves, including their ability to do Spinjitzu, which they explained was an ancient form of martial arts that was only practiced by a select group of people, them included.

Brooke could only stare in amazement at the ninja of ice as she struggled to process what she had just witnessed. As Sam had described the martial art, it was like magic. It was hard for her to imagine any ordinary person having the capacity to learn such a skill.

"Pretty cool, right?" Cole said, smirking at her awestruck expression.

"Are you kidding? It's amazing!" Brooke exclaimed. "How did you guys learn to do it?"

"Lots of practice," the earth ninja answered. The rest of the ninja nodded in agreement.

"So can anyone learn to do Spinjitzu?" she asked curiously.

Cole glanced at the other ninja and shrugged. "We don't see why anyone _couldn't_ learn it." His eyes rested on Lloyd, who shifted his feet uncomfortably. He obviously didn't want the secret to be spilled just yet.

However, Brooke was too preoccupied to notice the silent exchange between the brothers. She was too busy admiring the ninja in their tournament robes, more specifically the earth ninja. She couldn't deny that he was handsome: the way his shaggy black hair hung in his face, his lightly tanned skin and muscular physique-She bit her lip slightly. Was she falling for Cole?

Her observation of the ninja was interrupted when the sound of the sliding door caught everyone's attention.

"What is this?" Sensei asked, walking out onto the deck. "All five of my pupils training on their day off? I must be dreaming."

The ninja rolled their eyes at their teacher's remark.

"That's funny, Sensei, but we're not out here to train," Cole said.

"Yeah, very funny, Sensei. Actually, we wanted to show Brooke our ninja skills," Jay explained, motioning towards their houseguest.

The old man's eyes rested on the brunette, who gave him a friendly smile.

"Hi, Sensei Wu," Brooke called out. Sam had told her that Sensei was a very kind man, whose job was to train the ninja.

The martial arts teacher bowed his head in greeting.

"It is nice to meet you, Brooke," he said. The brunette returned the greeting.

"So what's up, Sensei?" Kai asked curiously, sensing his teacher had come with a purpose.

Sensei stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I have come to inform you all that Skylor has arrived."

The air became completely still amongst the young people. Jay and Nya gave each other nervous looks. Cole and Zane glanced down at the ground awkwardly. Lloyd casually eyed Sam, whose expression remained stoic. Standing next to Sam, Brooke noticed the tension amongst the group, but was clueless as to what the big deal was.

"Who's Skylor?" she mumbled under her breath, confused.

No one said anything until Kai eagerly stepped forward.

"I guess we should go say hi then."

Everyone except for Kai exchanged uncertain glances before following the fire ninja inside, mentally preparing themselves for their newest guest.

As Sam trailed behind the rest of the group, lost in her thoughts, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Lloyd, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay, Sam," he said.

The blonde nodded and tried her best to return the smile, but instead it came out crooked. Judging from her posture, Lloyd could tell she was hurting.

"Come on, let's go say hi," he said, gently guiding her forward. While he directed her towards the living room, his hand gradually slid down to the small of her back, holding her protectively.

Unbeknownst to Lloyd and Sam, Brooke caught a glimpse of the green ninja embracing her out of the corner of her eye If she remembered correctly, wasn't it Kai and Sam who were an item? She would have to ask about it later.

Sure enough, when the gang entered the living area, lo and behold, a young woman about their age, with fiery red hair tied up in a ponytail, sat calmly on the couch.

The other ninja couldn't believe their eyes. It was really her.

"Skylor! Glad you could make it!" Kai greeted his former girlfriend with enthusiasm.

The redhead glanced up to see the ninja of fire approach her, along with the rest of the team.

"Wow, Skylor, it is you!" Jay exclaimed, although there was an edge to his voice that she hadn't picked up on before.

"Hey guys," Skylor said, slowly standing up from her seat.

"Hey Skylor," Nya said, greeting her cheerfully.

"Hey Skylor, long time no see," Cole joked, out stretching a hand for her to shake.

"Touche," the redhead answered, chuckling at earth ninja's antics.

"Welcome, Skylor," Zane said, bowing his head in greeting. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

"Same here," she said, returning the bow. She still felt slightly guilty about what her father had done to the metal man. She was just glad that Zane didn't seem to hold it against her.

"It's nice to see you again, Skylor," Lloyd said, who shook her hand in a courteous manner.

It was then that Skylor noticed there were two people that she had not seen before, trailing behind the others. One was on the shorter side and had blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, while the other was taller and had long brown hair.

"And I don't believe we've met," Skylor said, glancing at the young women. She gave Kai a questioning look, who decided that he should probably introduce them.

He cleared his throat. "Skylor, this is Sam and Brooke," he said, motioning towards the girls. "Sam is staying with us over the summer for an internship, and Brooke is her roommate."

Sam nodded, but did not initiate further conversation between her and the redhead. It may have been too early to tell, but Skylor sensed that something was up with the blonde that she didn't know about just yet.

Brooke, on the other hand, was more friendly towards the Bounty's newest guest.

"I'm Brooke," the brunette said, sticking her hand out in greeting. "Sam and have been roommates since we started college here. Where do you go to school?"

Skylor laughed, as if the topic of school was amusing. "I don't go to school," she said. "But I do have my own business."

"Oh, that's cool," Brooke answered. "What's your business?"

"...It's a restaurant," Skylor explained.

Kai noticed a slight pause before she had responded to the brunette's question. Did she not want people to know of her relation with her father?

"Yeah, and it's a pretty successful one at that," the red ninja added. He didn't know why, but he wanted to boast her achievements to the rest of the group.

Skylor nodded. "Sure is," she said.

Sam watched the couple interact, and couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy towards the redhead. She couldn't kid the fact that Skylor was beautiful, with her fiery locks and hourglass figure, and the way Kai was looking at her made her almost sick to her stomach. The red ninja had never looked at her with such admiration.

"You okay, Sam?"

The blonde snapped out of her thoughts to find her roommate was watching her carefully, her hazel eyes shone with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night."

Brooke continued to study her closely, but did not bother to argue. She probably wasn't completely convinced, but decided it was best to drop the subject.

"So when's dinner?" Cole's loud voice rang throughout the room. "I'm starving."

Forgetting about Sam for a moment, Brooke smiled at her crush, if she could call him that at this point.

"I was thinking we'd get pizza," Nya said. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," the earth ninja answered, patting his stomach. "Anything that's filling."

Kai turned to Skylor. "Does pizza sound okay to you?" he asked.

Skylor shrugged. "Sure," she said. "As long as it doesn't have meat on it, I won't complain."

The red ninja raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were a vegetarian."

A small smile played across the redhead's lips. "Well, now you do."

Meanwhile, Jay and Nya watched helplessly as Sam's hand intertwined with Lloyd's. It seemed the longer Skylor held Kai's attention, the more Sam distanced herself from the red ninja, which meant that the chances of Kai and Sam ever getting together again were very, very slim.


	71. Chapter 71

**Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update, but with the end of the school year and everything, I've been really busy, but I finally got a chance to write! And thank you to all who have been reading my story. All your support is much appreciated! :D**

After the pizza was delivered, the ninja and the girls lounged in the living room, casually eating their meal. Everyone sat in a circle of sorts, with Jay, Nya and Zane sitting on the couch, leaving the rest to sit on the floor, besides Skylor and Cole, who chose to sit in the bean bag chairs.

Sam slowly ate her pizza as she observed the interaction between Kai and Skylor. The red ninja had decided to sit very close to his former girlfriend, while Lloyd sat next to Sam. Both of the blonds were quiet for most of the meal, but that did not mean that the gears in their head weren't spinning.

Lloyd still did not understand Kai's decision to go crawling back to Skylor, after an entire year had passed with no communication whatsoever between them. The green ninja could not pinpoint what it was, but there was something different about the ninja of amber. She seemed much more mellow than when he had last seen her. Her father was gone, so she may have felt more relaxed, but he was still suspicious.

"So, Skylor," Lloyd said, clearing his throat, "What have you done with the island now that your father is gone?"

The redhead glanced up from her pizza as everyone's eyes rested on her. They were no doubt curious as to how she was handling her father's property.

"At first I was going to sell it," she began, "but then I thought it would make a good place for a factory - a _real_ factory this time."

The ninja chuckled slightly, knowing what she was referring to.

"So you mean there's no more slaves making noodles for free?" Cole joked, recalling his days working in Chen's factory after he had his powers taken away. Having first-hand experience with the job, he knew how horrible it was, especially when Clouse told him he was prohibited from eating the merchandise.

Skylor let out a half-hearted laugh, although on the inside she was rather uncomfortable talking about the subject.

"Of course not," she said, waving his remark aside. "But enough about me. I'm curious about you all. How has life been treating you as the greatest heroes of Ninjago? Any more 'formidable' foes?"

The ninja shook their heads.

"No, not really. It's been pretty quiet," Cole explained. The others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, not much has happened since then," Jay said. "Though some of us were a bit antsy about not having anyone to fight anyone lately…" His eyes casually rested on Kai, who soon realized that Jay was referring to him.

"Shut it, Jay," the red ninja said, glaring at his brother. The rest of the team laughed, as well as Skylor, who also managed to crack a smile at the spiky-haired boy's expense.

"Well, you always were the impatient one," she teased.

After the laughter had died down, Zane, who was just as curious about the redhead's situation as the others, spoke.

"How long are you staying in the city?" he asked. "We heard you visit all of your restaurants, so you must do a lot of travelling every month or so."

Skylor glanced at the ground, almost forlornly, before meeting the white ninja's gaze.

"Yeah, it gets tiresome, but I guess that's the price you pay for owning a the apartment I have here in Ninjago City is not too home-like to me anyways. It's just a place to sleep."

"You know, you could stay with us…" Kai said, gently elbowing her. "There's no need to waste money on an apartment when you could just crash with us. At least it would feel more like a home."

Sam's eyes widened in complete disbelief at the red ninja's remark. Was he actually going to invite her to stay here?

Skylor glanced around the room as if she was considering his offer. "I don't know...your ship seems pretty full to me," she said, making eye contact with the blonde girl, who quickly glanced down at her lap in disdain.

Even though it seemed she had politely declined, Kai still refused to drop the subject.

"Yeah, but we'd all make room for you," he insisted. "Even if some people had to be moved around...we could make it work."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Lloyd abruptly stood up from his seat on the floor.

"Now, hey, wait a minute," he said, frowning. "What makes you think you have the right to move people around, _Kai_, when you were the one who put them there in the first place?" He wasn't sure exactly what his brother had meant by "move around" but no doubt Sam was involved, considering she was the only overnight guest on the Bounty at this point in time.

Kai stared blankly at the green ninja before he crossed his arms and looked away defiantly. "I did not."

Lloyd swore he heard Sam whimper on the ground next to him at his brother's hurtful and ignorant remark, which was making him lose his patience even faster.

"Yeah, you did. The whole reason Sam is living on this ship is because you _wanted_ her to be here."

The room fell silent as the air filled with tension. The ninja could see clearly that this little "conversation" between Kai and Lloyd was not going to end well, since they were aware of the circumstances surrounding the brothers' rivalry.

Skylor frowned, trying to process what was happening between the two ninja. Suddenly, it dawned on her.

In shock, she turned to Kai. "Wait a minute. Are you _dating_ her?" she asked.

Kai kept his gaze fixated on the green ninja. "_Was_ dating her. But I guess she discovered a better option."

Lloyd, taken aback by his brother's comment, blinked in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Kai slowly got up from his seat, his temper shortening. "I heard what you said, Lloyd. You and Sam were in the training room having some kind of _private_ discussion."

Lloyd's jaw dropped in disbelief. His brother had been listening in on him when he had confessed his feelings to Sam?

"You were eavesdropping on us?"

The red ninja put his hand on hips. "Certainly didn't have to to figure out what was going on."

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if the older ninja was bluffing or not. "And what was going on then?"

"Lloyd was teaching me Spinjitzu, Kai," Sam blurted out, watching the confrontation unfold between the two friends. She couldn't take it any more at this point. She hated to see Lloyd getting blamed for being in the training room alone with her when it was she who had instigated the Spinjitzu lessons in the first place.

Kai shook his head, confused. "Wait. What?"

Lloyd nodded in support of Sam's comment. "Yeah, she wanted to learn, so I helped," he explained.

Despite the sincerity in his younger teammate's voice, the red ninja couldn't help but snort. "How nice of you," he sneered.

"Kai, stop!" Sam snapped. She had never raised her voice since she had been on the ship, but right now she was feeling particularly defensive of Lloyd. Kai just didn't know when to quit.

The red ninja looked at the college student in shock, her harsh tone being a foreign sound to him, but he quickly recovered, remembering why he was angry. He flared his nostrils a bit, but did not respond.

"Yeah, and she's made a lot of progress, but you were too absorbed in yourself to notice," Cole piped up amongst the ninja. He wasn't sure why he had said anything, but he hated to see his teammates fighting.

Kai's head immediately jerked towards the earth ninja. "Wait, you knew about this, Cole?!" he demanded, newfound anger burning in his eyes.

Cole suddenly realized what he had said and began to panic.

"Uh, yeah, only because Lloyd told me not to tell anyone," he said, glancing at the ground sheepishly.

Lloyd frowned, annoyed that his black-haired brother had ratted him out, but soon forgot about it when his eyes met those of the fire ninja, whose penetrating gaze was enough to make him want to crawl under a rock.

"So you _were_ trying to steal her from me?!" the older ninja exclaimed. "Just because you're the all so high-and-mighty green ninja, Lloyd, doesn't mean you're entitled to everything!"

Lloyd shook his head, waving his arms in defense. "Whoa! Hey, I never said that!" he retorted. "And Sam's not a piece of property, Kai!"

The red ninja shot his brother an incredulous look. "You have to tell _me_ that?!"

"Apparently, since you seem to be forgetting what a relationship is all about."

Kai glared at his teammate. To think that Lloyd was giving _him_ a lecture on relationships. "Then what is it about, oh old-and-wise green ninja?" he challenged.

Lloyd's expression hardened. "Trust. And it's hard to trust someone who goes back-and-forth between people like they're choices on a menu."

Jay watched in horror as his teammates silently fumed at one another. If Kai was tipped over the edge any further, the blue ninja was sure his fiery brother would spontaneously combust.

"Hey, uh, Nya? Cole? May I speak to you for a sec?" the auburn-haired ninja said, biting his lip nervously.

Successfully capturing their attention, Nya and Cole glanced at their friend and the three slowly stood up, trying to look as casual as possible, before scrambling out of the living room. Jay led them into the hallway, where they breathed a sigh of relief at being a safe distance from the action.

"Okay, that was really uncomfortable," Cole said.

"I'll say," Nya agreed. "I swear I was witnessing the beginning of World War Three."

"Yeah, and I've never seen Kai so mad," Jay whispered, cowering at the thought of his brother almost blowing his gasket.

"Or Lloyd," Cole added. "I gotta hand it to him, he's pretty scary when he wants to be."

"Speaking of Lloyd," Jay began, "what in the world was that, _Cole_?" he demanded, turning to his teammate.

The earth ninja gave his brother a blank look. "What was what?"

Jay pinched his nose in exasperation. "You know, the whole training thing. What the heck was that?!"

Cole blinked, now realizing what his brother was referring to. "Well, one morning I found them in the training room. Their voices woke me up."

"Oh, great! This is just great!" Jay exclaimed. "So you're telling me that Lloyd, the whole time she's been here, has been training her, without Kai knowing about it?"

Cole nodded, unsure of how to answer. "Yeah, basically."

The blue ninja sighed, throwing his head at the ceiling in frustration. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier? That would've been nice to know _before _things went downhill!"

"Hey, I promised Lloyd not to tell," the earth ninja said, waving his arms in defense.

"So does that mean that they've been together this entire time?" Nya asked, her eyes widening in shock at the possibility.

Cole shook his head. "I don't think so, but it seemed like they had been training long before I found out."

"Hm, it must've been recent then," the samurai figured. "And I bet you it was after my brother started ignoring her." She rolled her eyes, thinking back to when she first noticed Sam and her brother had started to grow apart.

"I guess I wouldn't be surprised," Cole said, shrugging. "Especially after she found out about Skylor -"

"Hey, I didn't know!" Jay interrupted, still feeling defensive about the whole ordeal.

The earth ninja rolled his eyes at his teammate, but continued. "I don't think either of them have been interested in getting back together."

"Then what are we going to do?" Nya asked, concern spreading across her features. "We can't just leave them like that!"

"Frankly, I don't see what we can do," Jay said, irritation prevalent in his voice. "It's very clear that Sam has feelings for Lloyd now, and I don't see Kai manning up and apologizing to her anytime soon."

Cole frowned at the harshness of his teammate's words. Jay rarely ever talked like that unless something was really eating at him.

"In his defense, they shouldn't have been going behind his back like that," the earth ninja remarked. "If they had just been honest with him from the beginning, then all of this could've been avoided."

The blue ninja sighed again, although this one was more drawn out and weak, as if all his energy had been drained. "Either way, the damage is done, and it's not gonna be repaired that easily."

Not knowing how to respond, Cole craned his neck from his position in the hallway to look at the rest of the group still in the living room, and that's when he noticed something was off.

Brooke was missing.


	72. Chapter 72

"Wait, where's Brooke?" Cole asked, peering into the living room. Apparently, during the time Jay had pulled Nya and him aside, the brunette had wandered off.

His heart sank as it crossed his mind that maybe she had gone back to her hotel. But something told the earth ninja that she was still nearby, and there were only so many places a person could be on such a tiny ship.

Jay and Nya shrugged, having not a single clue where Sam's roommate had gone. That's when Cole took it upon himself to investigate the whereabouts of his crush.

"I'll go look for her," he said, nudging past his brother and his former girlfriend, if he could even call Nya that.

He sauntered deeper into the hallway and peeked into the bedrooms, seeing no sign of the brunette. The hall bathroom's lights weren't on either, so she couldn't have been in there.

However, there was one place the earth ninja still hadn't checked.

The last, and probably most obvious, place that Cole went to check for their visitor was on the deck. Sure enough, when the dark-haired ninja opened the sliding door, he spotted a figure sitting on the ground near the edge of the deck. Immediately, he knew it was her. His heart skipped a beat, gladdened by the fact that not only had she decided against returning to her hotel, but also because, even from a distance, she looked stunning. Her long brown locks gently blew in the nighttime breeze, emanating a peaceful, tranquil air around her.

Cole took a deep breath before clearing his throat awkwardly in an attempt to get her attention.

From where she was sitting, the girl turned her head to see who had followed her out onto the deck. She smiled to see that it was none other than Cole who had found her.

"Hey," she said softly, as if she didn't want the rest of the group to know that she was out here.

"Hey," Cole answered back, quietly shutting the sliding door behind him.

He walked over to the edge of the deck and carefully took a seat on the ground next to the brunette, who was hugging her knees closely as she stared out into the night sky. Cole pretended to do the same, except that it was hard for him not to sneak a couple glances at her.

For the first time today, she was quiet, as though she were contemplating something.

"Decided not to stick around the fun in living room?" the earth ninja joked, hoping to break the silence between them.

Brooke turned her head towards the young man sitting next to her and smiled.

"No. To be honest, it was getting really awkward," she admitted.

Cole nodded. "I'll say," he said, wholeheartedly agreeing with her. "I was expecting a real Fist-to-Face battle at any moment."

Brooke chuckled at his remark, but then regained her quiet composure once more.

"I just don't understand what's going on with Sammie and Kai," she said. "Things were going great the last time I spoke with her, and now they hardly even look at each other."

Cole was not sure how to respond. Frankly, he didn't understand exactly what was going on either. Jay had proven that when he had yelled at him for no apparent reason, and only then was when the earth ninja had connected the dots and realized that Sam and Lloyd had gotten together as a result of Kai rekindling his friendship with Skylor.

Nonetheless, he still felt that whatever had happened between his brother and his girlfriend was strictly their business, and no one should have to intervene.

"I don't know. I guess that's how things shook out," he said, not able to offer any more insight on the matter.

"And now Sam seems to be with Lloyd," Brooke continued. "I saw them together earlier, and it's so obvious that they have feelings for each other, and I...I just don't know what went wrong."

"It's hard to say," Cole answered. "Sometimes people just drift apart. There's nothing we can do about it, it just happens."

His eyes met Brooke's. "Personally, I thought that Kai and Sam were a good match, too. Kai needs someone to keep him grounded, and I think she did that for him."

"And Sam was just so happy," Brooke said, staring out into space. "She's always so stressed out, and since she met Kai, she's been so much more relaxed. Until now."

Cole nodded in understanding, though he did not provide any further comment. To be honest, he was tired of watching the drama unfold between the couple. He was never one for drama, and tried to avoid it the best he could, though in the past couple of days that had been nearly impossible with his fiery brother talking about Skylor nonstop. At this point, it was probably just best to leave them alone and let things sort themselves out.

"Enough about those guys," he said, seeing that all this talk of Kai and Sam was negatively affecting her mood. "How about you? Anything exciting going on this summer?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, not really. I have my job at the clothing store, but that's pretty much it."

"Ah. I'm guessing things are pretty quiet where you live, then?"

"Yeah. I mean, I have friends there and everything, but it's a pretty small village. What about you? Where are you from?" she asked.

The earth ninja shrugged. "Eh, I came from a small village too," he answered. "Nowhere special. My dad sent me to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts when I was younger, so I was never really home that often."

"So how did you become a ninja then?" Brooke asked, tilting her head curiously.

Cole's eyes widened. "Uh..." He was a bit caught off guard by her question. It surprised him that she was so interested in his background, but nonetheless he was willing to explain. "Well, Sensei found me, since I, uh, kind of ran away from the school," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "My dad wanted to me be a dancer, but that wasn't what I wanted to do. He didn't find out until me and the other ninja had to win the Fang Blade in the talent competition to stop Pythor..." he rambled on, and that's when he noticed Brooke's confused expression. "It's a long story," he quickly added.

"What's being a ninja like?" she asked. She was still getting used to the idea of her roommate's friends being trained warriors, yet she was extremely fascinated by the concept.

Cole shrugged again. "Being a ninja definitely has its perks," he said. "It's a nice feeling when you help people out, but there are times when it can be tough." His face hardened, being reminded of one of the darker times. "We almost lost Zane," he said quietly. "Sometimes the reward comes at a price. We all must be ready to give it our all at any given moment, no matter what the cost is. Fortunately, Chen had him rebuilt, in order to lure us to his island."

"That's not the same island you were talking about earlier, is it?" she asked, her eyes widening.

Cole's expression remained serious. "Yes, it is," he answered. "You see, Chen's daughter, Skylor-"

"Wait a minute. Skylor-the girl that's in your living room right now-is the daughter of your _enemy_?!"

The earth ninja tried not to crack a smile at the brunette's shock. "Yeah...I guess you could say that."

Brooke whistled in amazement. "Wow," she said, dragging the vowel out. "And Kai likes her?" She had to admit, the ninjas' relationships were complicated.

"At least he used to. I don't know what's going on now, unless he never completely got over her."

The brunette glanced down at her lap, trying to process this new information. Honestly, the whole scenario was enough to make her head spin.

"So I guess what you thought was a love triangle has turned into a, err, square of sorts."

Cole couldn't help but chuckle at her remark. "I guess that's true," he said. As he said so, he stood up from his spot on the deck, stretching out his legs, which had become numb from being seated for so long. He wasn't really into the lovey-dovey stuff anyways, especially when it came to Kai's messed-up love life.

"I'm gonna go back inside," he declared, stretching his arms out in the process. "Wanna brave the worst with me?"

Brooke smiled. To be honest, it was nice to just spend some alone time with the earth ninja, and she wish it could've lasted longer. But it was getting a bit chilly outside, and at least he seemed open to continue being with her, even with the extra company around.

"Sure," she said, as Cole outstretched a hand to help her up. His strong, calloused hand enveloped her smaller, softer one, and a warm, fuzzy feeling spread throughout his chest.

However, as soon as they both were standing, he realized that he was still holding onto her hand.

"Erm, sorry," he said, quickly pulling his hand away.

Brooke giggled, a slight blush creeping across her features. "It's okay."

Her hazel eyes twinkled as she gazed into the ninja's deep brown ones, which had various shades of brown and other earthy tones swimming in them.

"Guess we should see what's going on," she said as the two walked back inside.

Little did he know that the sensation of his hand holding hers was firmly imprinted in her mind.


	73. Chapter 73

After Jay, Nya, and Cole left, followed by Brooke shortly after, the air had become flat-out uncomfortable, almost unbearable for the white ninja of ice, who had considered leaving the scene multiple times within the past few minutes. However, his compassionate nature had prevented him from leaving, seeing that his brothers were in such a poor state.

Since the others had left the room, Kai and Lloyd continued to stare coldly at one another, neither teammate flinching at the other's hostile expression.

Skylor watched the silent battle between the two brothers and found herself losing her patience. Kai had generously invited her over to reconnect with her old friends, only for them to be constantly bickering with one another over what was clearly some silly misunderstanding.

"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," she announced, standing up from her seat on the floor.

Her sudden movement made all of the occupants in the room turn to look at her, including Kai, who tilted his head questioningly at the ninja of amber.

"Kai, I need to speak with you," she ordered. Before the red ninja could protest, she grabbed his wrist and led him out into the hallway, dragging him past Jay and Nya, whose expressions indicated nothing short of confusion, and finally pulled him into the ninjas' bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Kai, still recovering from the redhead's abrupt actions, rubbed his head tiredly before a pair of vibrant green eyes met his.

"Hey, what was that abou-"

"What is going on, Kai?" Skylor demanded, assertively placing her hands on her hips. She wanted answers, and she was going to extract them from him somehow.

The red ninja's eyes darted around the room, avoiding her gaze. He didn't want her to know about Sam, otherwise, the chances of them getting back together would be very slim, if she was convinced he was in love with another woman.

"I guess I'm not sure what you mean by that," he answered, attempting to brush it off.

Skylor narrowed her eyes at him, her lips threatening to twist into a small smirk. "You can only play charades for so long, Kai," she said. She was well aware of the fire master's techniques of avoidance, which she had witnessed numerous times on her father's island. "Are you and Sam together or not?"

The red ninja's eyes widened at her bluntness, but tried to keep a calm composure.

"No, we are not together," he stated matter-of-factly, hoping it would be enough to convince her.

The ninja of amber raised a brow. "Really?" she asked.

Kai nodded. "Really."

Still, the redhead wasn't buying into his statement. "Then why does it bother you so much that she's with Lloyd then?" she challenged. "You didn't exactly sound like a supportive friend back there."

Kai frowned, the fight he had with Lloyd in the living room replaying in his mind. As much as he hated to admit it, what Skylor had said was true. Why did he care so much about how Lloyd and Sam's relationship came about? Why was he harboring any ill feelings towards the couple instead of focusing on the woman right in front of him, who he hadn't seen for months and whose path had crossed his once again? Why was he dwelling over his relationship with Sam, which clearly hadn't been strong enough to last? The friendship that he shared was Skylor was older, and at the same time, stronger. And it would last forever, if the fire ninja had anything to say about it.

"Listen Skylor, whatever you think is going on between me and Sam is in the past," he said, inching towards her. "Yes, we were a thing, and yes, I had feelings for her, but not anymore. Do you know why? Because _you_ were the one I thought about ever since you left, and I don't want to put that kind of distance between us again."

His deep brown eyes bore into hers, a spectrum of emotions reflecting off his chocolate-colored irises.

"Which is why I want to ask you this."

He slowly got down on his knee, and Skylor's heart began to pound frantically in her chest.

"Kai…" she began, but to no avail, as her words became lodged in her throat, watching her greatest fantasy, yet greatest nightmare come true.

"Skylor Chen, will you marry me?"

* * *

When Cole and Brooke re-entered the living room, they were greeted with an overwhelming lack of people occupying the space. Only Lloyd, Sam, and Zane remained, talking casually amongst themselves, although Cole could see his brothers' eyes shining with worry, along with Sam's, as though they all had been deer caught in headlights.

Hearing footsteps enter the room, the three friends turned to see the earth ninja and the brunette walk into the living area, and the previous conversation they were having immediately ceased.

"Hey, guys," Lloyd said as the couple sat down next to them. "We were wondering where you went."

"Oh, we just went out for some fresh air," Cole answered, "since it was getting a bit stuffy in here."

Lloyd frowned, knowing his teammate was not speaking of the literal air in the room. "Yeah, it's a shame," he said, his eyes hardening. "I didn't mean to blow up at Kai like that," he admitted. "But sometimes the guy needs to get a reality check. The world doesn't revolve around him, you know."

Cole nodded, being very familiar with the egotistical tendencies of his hot headed teammate. "Yep, I know how that is," he said. The earth ninja looked around, searching for signs of the rest of the group. "Speaking of which, where is everyone?"

"Jay and Nya are having a discussion in the hallway, and I believe Skylor pulled Kai aside to speak with him, although I am unsure of their whereabouts," Zane explained. "The situation we are having this evening appears to be very problematic."

Cole rolled his eyes at his brother's sugar-coated words. "No kidding," he said.

From next to Cole, Brooke eyed her roommate worriedly. Since she and Cole had been gone, Sam had shifted closer to Lloyd, practically leaning against his shoulder, her eyes shining with worry. It was then that she noticed the blonde's hands were subtly intertwined with Lloyd's on the floor.

Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Brooke spoke.

"So how did you and Kai break up?" she asked, directing her attention towards Sam.

Sam met her roommate's gaze and blushed, realizing she was still holding onto the green ninja's hand.

"It's a long story," she said, sitting up straighter. In the meantime, Lloyd absent-mindedly let go of her hand, his own head spinning with different thoughts, mostly ones of his brother.

"I've got time," Brooke responded as the rest of the group huddled closer together, equally wanting to take part in the story.

Sam sighed. "It all started when we went out last Friday…"

* * *

"_What is going on, Kai?"_

Skylor's voice was muffled as Jay and Nya eagerly pressed their ears against the door of the ninjas' bedroom.

As the ninja and the samurai had watched their teammate and their brother being dragged into the ninjas' bedroom, Skylor leading, the pair couldn't help but wonder what had prompted such a private discussion between the former couple.

"Can you hear anything?" Jay whispered to Nya, who stood right beside him as they tried to decipher what the couple was saying.

"No," Nya whispered back, her right ear pressed firmly against the door. "Kai is talking, but I can barely make it out."

"You know, all of this could have been avoided if Kai hadn't been snooping around and overheard Sam and Lloyd the other day. Isn't that how he said he found out about them?"

Nya stared at her boyfriend as if he had grown a second head.

"Talk about Kai being nosy," the samurai said. "Just look at us!"

"Yes, but we're doing it for a _good_ reason," Jay retorted, as if that would justify the act of eavesdropping on his teammate.

The blue ninja closed his eyes as he struggled to make out the conversation between Skylor and Kai.

"_No, we're not together,"_ Kai's voice rang out.

"Ugh, clearly," Jay remarked, rolling his eyes, knowing that his brother was referring to him and Sam.

"Are you sure this is right of us, Jay?" Nya asked, her brown eyes gleaming with worry.

The blue ninja waved her worry aside. "Of course it is!" he reassured her. "We are merely looking out for the interest of our friends."

He recalled Cole saying something similar along those lines when they had been spying on Kai and Sam on their picnic date. But this was completely different. And they wouldn't get caught...he hoped. With Kai's dampened mood, he'd hate to think what his brother would do to him if he knew they were listening.

"_You didn't exactly sound like a supportive friend back there." _

"_Listen Skylor, whatever you think is going on between me and Sam is in the past."_

Jay huffed angrily. "See, I told you he's already made up his mind!"

"Shh, listen!" Nya said, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she tried hearing the conversation unfold.

"_...you were the one I thought about ever since you left, and I don't want to put that kind of distance between us again."_

There was a long silence on the other side of the door. Both Nya and Jay desperately pressed their entire weight against the door, more than eager to know what was going on.

"It's quiet," Nya said.

"Oh, why does it have to be quiet?!" Jay exclaimed in frustration, backing away from the door. "Nothing good ever happens when it's quiet!"

The samurai put a finger to her lips, attempting to silence the hyper-active ninja. She was thankful that the walls were fairly soundproof.

Taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, Jay pressed his ear to the door once more, and what he heard flabbergasted him.

"_Skylor Chen, will you marry me?"_

Both he and Nya gasped, immediately backing away from the door in shock.

"Is he outta his mind!" Jay shouted, nervously tugging at his hair. "He can't get married to her!"

"By law, he can!" Nya answered, her eyes widening at the thought. "But he's not ready for marriage! He can barely commit to a brand of cereal!"

"But Sensei would never allow it!"

"Yeah, but does he ever listen to Sensei?!"

The couple froze, in utter disbelief that their own friend and brother had just asked his former girlfriend to make a lifetime commitment, after seeing her for the first time in months. He barely knew her as far as they were concerned, and a look of horror crossed their faces as they remembered the source of Kai's insanity in the first place.

What would Sam think of all this?

"We gotta tell Sensei!" Jay exclaimed, now in full-panic mode.

"What is that going to do?!" Nya responded. "He can't stop Kai from marrying her! No one can stop my brother from getting what he wants, if he really wants it!"

"But does he want that, Nya?!" Jay asked. "Does he _really_ want to marry her?!"

"Yes?! No?! I don't know, Jay!"

Suddenly, the blue ninja stopped yelling. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them, regaining full composure. He spoke in much softer tone, determined to put an end to this pandemonium. "Then we need to tell _him _that this is wrong. For our brother, and our friend."

Nya nodded, and with a new resoluteness in his eyes, the blue ninja opened the door.

* * *

**Things have taken quite a turn for the worst, haven't they...? Hope you guys aren't mad. ;) Don't worry, there's still hope for the ninja. Maybe there needs to be a intervention of some sort *hint hint*. Anyways, thanks for all of your support, and I will be planning to update in the very near future, so stay tuned!**


	74. Chapter 74

"Will you marry me?"

Skylor realized she had been holding her breath, and let out a sharp outtake of air as she struggled to think clearly.

Kai had just proposed to her. Never in a million years had she dreamed of this , she knew that he had feelings for her, but this, this was insane.

She gazed down at the red ninja down on one knee, his eyes pleading as he awaited an answer.

"Are you serious?" was the first response that came out of her mouth, which was wide open in shock.

Kai nodded. "Yes, I've never been more serious about anything."

Still, the ninja of amber struggled to form words. "But-but how?"

"I thought about what you said. About settling down, and I realized that you are the person I want to do that with," he explained. "You said it yourself, I'd make a great husband."

Skylor inwardly cringed, remembering that she had said that to him. "Yeah, but Kai, I didn't mean…"

"Wait!" a voice called out.

Skylor and Kai turned their heads to see Jay burst through the door, along with Nya, who caught the red ninja in his kneeling position, holding Skylor's hand.

Nya gasped, her eyes widening at the sight of her brother in mid proposal. Never would she have expected to see such a sight, at least at this point in their lives.

"Don't do it, Kai!" Jay exclaimed, panting slightly, as if entering the room had drained all his energy.

The red ninja's eyes widened, still in shock at the fact his teammate had barged in on what was supposed to be a private proposal. "What are you doing, Jay?!" he demanded.

"Don't do this, brother!" Nya piped up from behind the blue ninja. "You're not thinking clearly! All this stuff with Sam and Lloyd is making you crazy!"

"Your sister's right, Kai!" Jay agreed. "This is crazy, even for you!"

Recovering from his initial shock, Kai stood up from his kneeling position and frowned at his teammate. "You can't tell me how to live my life."

"Ah, would you quit being so stubborn?!" Jay yelled. "We all know you're doing this just because you're upset about Sam!"

Like a thousand-ton weight had been dropped, the air became completely still amongst the four friends.

"I thought you said you didn't have feelings for her," Skylor said, glancing at Jay and Nya, who wore a look of disapproval as their gaze was fixated on the red ninja.

Kai felt his friends' eyes penetrating through his skull, and his heart began to race as he struggled to muster up an appropriate response.

"Hey, what's all the commotion?" a husky voice said.

The bedroom door opened further to reveal none other than Cole, along with Brooke, Lloyd, Sam and Zane trailing behind him.

Kai couldn't help but face-palm himself in exasperation. Why did they have to show up _now_?

No one dared to answer the earth ninja's question, especially Jay and Nya, who exchanged uncertain looks.

Meanwhile, Skylor was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to worry about the others who had entered the room. She planned to let Kai down gently, but right now, she was trying to formulate just the right words so that he would not leave completely heartbroken.

"Kai?"

Despite his frantic thoughts, the red ninja turned to her, his deep brown eyes resembling a puppy's as she captured his attention.

"Kai, I need to tell you something," she said. The way she was admiring the floor, Kai knew it couldn't be good.

"W-what is it, Skylor?" he asked, concern spreading across his features.

Green eyes met brown, and the ninja of amber sighed. Granted, letting the red ninja down was easier said than done.

"Remember when you and I talked on Wednesday, and I said that I was planning on settling down?"

Kai raised a brow suspiciously. "Yeah…?" he said, not liking where this was going. The tone of her voice was a clear indication that he would not like what he was about to hear.

She continued to avoid his gaze. "Well, the reason I said that was because I was already planning to do so...in the near future."

"And how near are we talking?" Kai asked, his expression unchanged.

"Six months from now, give or take."

It was then that the red ninja took a step back in surprise. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed. "You're telling me that you were planning to get married, buy a house, and have kids with me? All in six months?!" he asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. "No offense to you, Skylor, but I think that's a bit unreasonable-"

"Now, hey, wait a minute, what _exactly_ is going on?" Cole interjected. Everyone but Jay and Nya were equally as confused. Why in the world was Kai talking about kids?

However, Skylor ignored the curious gazes of her friends; her eyes remained fixated on the red ninja. "No, Kai. I said that because I was already planning to get married to...someone else."

She could practically see the figurative rain cloud forming over her former boyfriend's head as he put two-and-two together.

"What?" he uttered under his breath, inaudible for anyone else to hear but her.

"I'm _engaged_, Kai."

Silence reared its ugly head amongst the group once more as everyone slowly realized what was happening.

Kai had just asked Skylor to marry him, and Skylor had rejected him.

Within the group that had recently arrived on the scene mere minutes ago, the recent revelation about the redhead's personal life had rendered everyone speechless, including Kai, who stood facing his former girlfriend, jaw dropped in complete shock.

"You're...you're engaged?" he repeated, choking on his words.

Skylor nodded in affirmation. "Yes," she answered. "I didn't tell you earlier because I was worried that it wreck our friendship. But I guess it had to come out sooner or later."

The red ninja swallowed thickly, feeling a lump in his throat beginning to form, inhibiting his ability to speak.

"C-congratulations," he croaked. Despite putting on his best face, it came out less sincere than he had intended it to.

Skylor flashed him a sympathetic smile. "Thanks," she said.

From across the room, Lloyd studied the interaction between his teammate and his old flame, and realized that was the reason why Skylor had been acting strangely at dinner. She had been extremely mellow, more so than her usual relaxed persona. And now, he realized, that should've been the first clue that something was up with her. Her reluctance to go into detail about her current life had been the second clue.

Next to Lloyd, Sam, who had also witnessed the event unfold, was overcome with a surge of emotions, ranging from absolute grief for her spiky-haired friend to pure, downright anger. Not more than a week had passed since their date at Mama-Li's and here he had proposed to a woman he hadn't seen in _months_. She swore that all the jabs and snide remarks the red ninja had made towards her and Lloyd had been intentionally hurtful, and she was starting to forget why she had even gone out with him in the first place. Sure, he had seemed like a nice, fun person to be around, but practically overnight, he had evolved into a selfish, conceited jerk, who only looked out for himself. Just like her ex-boyfriend.

The range of emotions swirling inside of her proved her too much to handle, as her vision blurred and tears began to silently leak from her eyes. How could she have let herself fall into that trap again? The thought of Kai choosing Skylor over her weighed heavily on her mind. All along, she had thought that things between them had been going great, when in reality he had been thinking about _her_. As they had said in her history class, history liked to repeat itself.

"What is going on here?" an older voice rang throughout the halls.

Kai's moistened eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about Sensei.

As on cue, the elder man brushed past the group standing in front of the doorway and entered the ninja's bedroom to find Jay, Nya, Kai and Skylor standing in the center of the room.

"What do you mean what's going on here, Sensei? There is clearly nothing strange or out of the ordinary going on, hehe," Jay chuckled nervously. "Just a group of friends getting together in this really tight space."

Ignoring his pupil's false claims, Sensei's gaze rested on Kai, whose eyes shone with guilt and perhaps even a bit of sadness.

"Kai," the older man said, walking towards his other pupil. "Maybe you can enlighten me on what is going on exactly?"

The red ninja's eyes darted from his teacher to the floor, reluctant to admit what had actually occurred within the past few minutes.

"Is it a secret?" the older man pressed, studying his student's face closely, hoping to find an answer lying underneath his expression.

Finally, Kai grew tired of his teacher trying to pick him apart and caved. "No, Sensei, it isn't."

"Then what is it?"

Kai bit his lip nervously, feeling nine pairs of eyes burning through his skull. "Well, you see Sensei, when no one was here, I…" he trailed off.

"Yes?" his teacher encouraged.

The red ninja took a deep breath. "I...sort of asked Skylor to marry me," he said quickly, his cheeks darkening in embarrassment.

On any other occasion, his teacher's reaction would have been hilarious, but the look of complete shock and disbelief made Kai feel utterly humiliated and ashamed of what he had done.

"And why did you do that?" Sensei spoke calmly. From next to Nya, Jay cowered in fear, afraid for his teammate.

However, instead of showing his fear, Kai's expression remained stoic. "Because I can't stop thinking about her, Sensei. She's in my thoughts all the time, and I-"

"It's not healthy for you to be thinking of me that way, Kai," Skylor interjected. Frankly, she was amazed at how emotionally invested Kai was in her, even after so much time had passed since he had last seen her.

To her surprise, Kai held up his hand to cut her off. "Just let me finish. Ever since I thought I saw her downtown when Sam and I went out…"

The blonde's heart skipped a beat hearing him mention her, as he referred back to when times were simpler.

"...I just couldn't get her out of my head, and I didn't want to do that to Sam. And I guess I felt resentful about Sam being with Lloyd, so I thought the only way I could be at peace with it was to be with Skylor."

There it was: the truth. Like nine light bulbs had been lit on top of everyone's heads, the commotion over the past week or so had become crystal clear. There had been more to the story than had met the eyes of all that had been watching, including Sam, who stood frozen upon hearing the unexpected news.

"Hm, I see," Sensei said, pondering over what his student had told him, but did not further elaborate.

Kai then turned to Skylor. "And Skylor, whether you like it or not I do have feelings for you. You were the first person I fell for, and that will never change."

The redhead nodded, acknowledging his statement. "I'm honored that you think of me that way, Kai. But you need to move on," she said. "It isn't good for the both of us if you can't let go of the past. I had feelings for you too, and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for you. But we aren't right for each other. Someday maybe you'll see that."

The red ninja tilted his head at the ninja of amber's cryptic response. How did she so strongly know that they were not compatible? How did she know that there was someone else who could fulfill her role in his life better than she could?

From across the room, he met Sam's eyes, which were bleary with tears. He suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of guilt course through him, even though he still felt he had a right to be upset with her. Yes, she had gone behind his back, and yes she should've been honest with him from the beginning if she had preferred to be with Lloyd, but he hadn't been the nicest to her, and it hadn't been fair of him to have been holding her hand while his mind had been on Skylor.

And because he had been so caught up in preserving his pride, he had lost both of them.

"I'm sorry, Sensei," he said, hanging his head in shame. "I know I messed up."

The martial arts teacher nodded. "At least you realize it." he said. "But understand that this does not change what has occurred the past few days. Your behavior has been unacceptable, and I expect you to make it up in your training in the upcoming week." Despite the sterness in his voice, there was a tinge of sympathy that resided the elder's faded blue eyes.

Kai bowed respectfully. His teacher would forgive him eventually for being so out of line, but like any good student, he knew that he needed to take responsibility for his actions.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Now, I suggest everyone call it a night," Sensei declared, turning towards the other ninja and their guests. "Though it may not seem like it now, things will be better in the morning. That is all."

And with that, Sensei turned to leave. The group standing in the doorway moved aside to allow the older man to pass. "Goodnight, everyone," he said.

"Goodnight, Sensei," a chorus of voices answered.

When the martial arts teacher disappeared, the friends exchanged uncertain looks, unsure of where to go from there.

"It is getting late," Brooke finally said, breaking the silence. "I should probably be heading back soon."

Cole's eyes lowered in disappointment upon hearing the brunette's words, but he had known that a goodbye was inevitable.

"I'll walk you to the door," he said. Giving Kai and Skylor a nod, the earth ninja turned and disappeared into the hallway, with Brooke following close behind him.

Once they had gone, Sam spoke. "I should probably walk her back," she said, avoiding the gazes of the others.

Lloyd turned to her, and that's when he noticed her tear-stained face. Her eyes were now dry, but he could see that she had been upset.

"I'll go with you," he said, giving her a comforting pat on the shoulder. He didn't like the idea of the two girls wandering the city alone at night, and knew Sam would need the company after she dropped Brooke off.

"I will be leaving too," Zane announced.

The nindroid had been silent for most of the evening, especially after the most recent event, as he struggled to understand what was happening amongst his friends. He knew that emotions were complicated, but he saw how easily things had spiraled out of control when it came to romantic relationships. Before today, he hadn't even considered how he would feel if PIXAL had developed romantic feelings for someone else other than him. His CPU simply could not process it. Granted, she was still stuck in his head, but just the thought was what his friends would call 'heart-breaking'. But as his teacher had said, they would have a fresh perspective in the morning, so maybe, just maybe, things would start brightening up for his family.

The ninja of ice disappeared into the hallway with Lloyd and Sam, leaving Jay, Nya, Skylor and Kai.

"Congratulations, Skylor," Jay said, shaking the redhead's hand sincerely. He did feel bad for Kai, but there was nothing else to be said but to simply congratulate his friend on finding happiness with someone else.

"Yeah, Skylor," Nya added. "We're all happy for you."

Kai watched his former girlfriend interact with his sister, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness within his chest. It would've been nice to have Skylor as part of the family. No doubt he and his sister would've gotten along great. But he guessed that this was the way things had to be. There was nothing he could do to change it now.

The samurai noticed her brother's forlorn face, and decided that it was time for Jay and her to leave.

"We should go, Jay," Nya said, tapping on the blue ninja's shoulder to get his attention.

He turned to Nya, who subtly shifted her eyes towards her brother, and that's when he saw Kai's defeated expression.

"Yeah, we'll give you two some privacy," the blue ninja said.

Kai gave his best friend and sister a slight nod before they left, leaving him alone with the object his affection for the past several months.

Skylor combed her fingers through her ponytail nervously. She knew she had caused him grief, but she wasn't about to throw away what she already had with someone else.

"So how did you meet him?" he asked, breaking the awkward silence between them. His voice echoed off the walls, reminding them of how alone they truly were.

Skylor sighed, recalling the memory.

"As you know, after the war, I went to run my father's business. However, not long after I got the business back up on its feet again, a customer came to the restaurant, and we connected immediately. He was handsome and charming, and I was confused as to why he paid so much attention to me. At first I thought he was just 'playing the field' as you would say, so I turned him down when he asked me out. But he came back the next day, and the day after that, and that's when I realized he wouldn't take no for an answer. So I gave him a chance and went out with him, and that's when everything clicked. I knew that he was the one."

Kai was silent for moment, trying to process what she had said.

"I would've done that too," he mumbled. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Skylor couldn't help but chuckle.

"I know you would have, Kai," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. Just like in his dream a couple weeks ago, his skin burned where she touched him. "But with your ninja training and me running the business, there was no way for us to see each other, and you know that."

"But you could have stayed with us when I asked you," Kai persisted. A heart-rending thought occurred to him that maybe things would have been different if he had convinced her to stay. Just one more push may have been all it took to convince her, and none of this mess would've happened.

As if she had been reading his mind, Skylor gave him a small smile.

"There was nothing you could've done to prevent it," she said. "You can't control fate, Kai. When are you going to learn that?"

"Never," the red ninja managed to crack a smile. "Unless it's a fate involving you."

The ninja of amber rolled her eyes, slowly growing impatient with his close-minded attitude. "Look around you, Kai. You have a family, a home, friends who care about you. You got it good here," she said. "You need to accept that. I never fit into this picture. This is your life, Kai, not mine. You can't control my life as much as I can't control yours."

Kai frowned. The small smile he had been wearing was immediately wiped away by her statement. "Does that mean that our entire relationship meant nothing to you?" he asked, raising his voice.

Skylor shook her head. "I didn't say that."

"Then what _did_ you mean to say?"

The redhead pursed her lips and placed a hand on her hip defiantly. "What I meant was: I believe we had a time and a place. You had feelings for me, and I returned them. The difference is, I know when to let go."

The room became dead silent as the red ninja stared deep into her eyes, desperately searching for his reflection in her emerald green irises. But there was not a trace of him. He was the only one holding on.

He could practically hear his heart breaking, as it shattered all over again.

* * *

**This was a longer chapter than I'm used to writing-over 3,000 words! I know that the past few chapters have been quite dramatic, but I think things will be slowly winding down for our ninja friends, especially Kai and Lloyd. But don't worry, there are more chapters to come! A great big thank you to all who have been reading my story. I really appreciate all the nice reviews you guys have given me, and be sure to see more chapters from me in the future! :D**


	75. Chapter 75

"Thanks for walking me back, guys," Brooke said to Lloyd and Sam as they reached the hotel where the brunette was staying.

"No problem," Lloyd answered, waving her thanks aside.

"Yeah, we're just glad you came," Sam said. She then paused. "Despite the circumstances."

Lloyd and Brooke shifted uncomfortably seeing their friend's downcast expression. Even in the dim glow of the streetlights, they could tell she was upset.

"Don't worry about it, Sammie," Brooke said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I had a good time. Plus I got to spend some time with you-know-who," she added, stifling her laughter as a certain ninja came to mind.

Both Sam and Lloyd tried not to crack a smile at Brooke's enthusiasm towards the earth ninja. If anything had gone right this evening, it had been the chance for Cole and her to connect.

"Well, we're glad you enjoyed your visit," Sam said, giving her a wink.

From underneath the streetlamp, she could see her friend blush at the words. She was definitely falling for him.

"Oh, and Sam," Brooke added, "Tell him that I'll call him when I get home, okay?"

The blonde nodded, acknowledging her request. "I will."

"You're the best!" the brunette said, grinning. She was thankful to have a roommate as great as Sam. She glanced up at the hotel. "I should probably head on up. My parents will be wondering where I am."

"Have a good night, Brooke," Lloyd said as the brunette turned to go inside the hotel.

"Bye, Lloyd. Bye, Sam."

The brunette gave them one final wave before she disappeared into the building, leaving the green ninja and Sam to talk amongst themselves as they headed back to the Bounty.

They walked a third of the way in silence, admiring the scenery as they strolled down the streets of the Bounty. It was a pleasantly cool summer evening, and like most weekends, the city was alive with the hustling and bustling of people, eager to make the most of their Saturday night.

Sam noticed that she and Lloyd occasionally caught the gaze of passersby, who may or may not have recognized the green ninja without his hood on. The green ninja hardly seemed to notice the curious eyes that were focused on him, pretending to fit in amongst the crowds.

Lloyd must've sensed that Sam was watching him, because he turned his head to look at her, catching her in the act.

The blonde blushed, imagining what was going through his head after he had noticed her eyeing him. She wondered what it was like to be a mini celebrity trying to integrate into the mass of people. The closest to a celebrity she had been was winning her eighth grade spelling bee, but that was nothing compared to being the son of the former infamous Lord Garmadon, who sacrificed himself to save the entire country from an invincible group of snake warriors. Plus, being the most powerful human being on the planet was nothing to sneeze at either.

"Do people usually recognize you guys when you're out?" she asked, breaking the silence between them.

Realizing that she was speaking to him, Lloyd turned to her and shrugged.

"Sometimes," he answered. "I think they know that it's us, but they're either afraid of us or they just don't care."

He wasn't out in public often, but when he did, it was never a particularly wild experience. Once in awhile, he'd be asked to sign a couple autographs, but it was never overwhelming. He figured that the people, while they were grateful for the ninjas' efforts, respected their space and their privacy. It was fine with Lloyd though - he wasn't too big on all the attention anyways.

"You guys deserve more credit for what you do," Sam finally said, contemplating what the green ninja had told her. "Especially you, Lloyd, with losing your father and all…"

She was worried that maybe she had overstepped her boundaries with the last sentence, but unlike when she had first met him, the green ninja simply brushed it off.

"Yeah, I miss him a lot," he replied. "But I'm glad that Ninjago is safe because of it."

Sam nodded in agreement, but could not think of anything else to say, so she kept her mouth shut, relishing in the newfound silence. While the quietness right after Brooke had left was the result of neither party sure of what to say next, this silence was more purposeful, as if nothing else needed to be said - just two friends enjoying each other's company.

Somewhere along the way, Lloyd's hand casually brushed against Sam's, and the blonde immediately felt her face heat up at the contact. She wasn't sure if he had done it on purpose or not, but shortly later, she had her answer.

As they wandered through the park, the green ninja's hand brushed against hers a second time, but he did not pull away. Before she could even comprehend what he was doing, he delicately slipped his hand into hers, his fingers interlacing with hers in a sweet gesture.

"T-Thanks for coming with me," she blurted out. She was desperate to say something, attempting to mask the embarrassment that was clearly displayed across her features.

Lloyd turned to her, although this time, his face broke into a huge grin, reaching from one ear to the other.

"Hey, that's what friends do for friends," he answered, though the twinkle in his eyes suggested that his statement carried more meaning than it had a couple weeks ago when they had been training. "So, uh, do you wanna get some ice cream?"

Recovering from her initial embarrassment, Sam was surprised by the random suggestion, but nonetheless, was amenable to the idea.

"Sure," she agreed. "I could go for some vanilla."

She remembered when Kai and her had had their first casual "date", the day she had invited him to play tennis and they had gotten ice cream afterwards. It was hard to believe how much had changed between the couple since then. It had only been a few weeks, yet she and the red ninja already had a major falling out. It saddened her to think that she hadn't known at the time that their relationship would end even before it had begun, practically.

"I could really go for some chocolate right about now," the green ninja said, his voice breaking through her thoughts.

The blonde shook her head, determined to keep her focus off of Kai and to simply enjoy her time with Lloyd. She admitted that she felt bad for the red ninja, after he had completely humiliated himself in front of his girlfriend, but that did not justify the pain she had gone through the past couple of days, worrying about where their relationship was headed. Thankfully, she had Lloyd to help get her mind off of him. And who knew, maybe a better and stronger relationship was under way, just waiting to blossom into something greater.

* * *

When the green ninja and Sam returned to the Bounty, it was already past ten, yet it seemed everyone was still up.

From outside the front door, Lloyd could hear the muffled voices of his teammates inside, mainly belonging to Cole and Jay, who were undoubtedly the loudest of the ninja.

Hands still intertwined, the green ninja spun around to face the blonde, whose blue eyes were starting to show signs of fatigue, but still maintained their sparkling luminosity, even in the dimness of nighttime.

"This was fun," Lloyd said.

Sam nodded. Spending the remainder of the evening with the green ninja had been enjoyable,and getting some ice cream before they went back was just a bonus. He hadn't even had to pay for it, since the worker behind the counter had recognized him as the legendary green ninja, and therefore hadn't hesitated to give them the frozen treats for free.

Like Sam had said earlier, she had gotten a vanilla cone while Lloyd had gotten a chocolate one, and both had practically inhaled the dessert within minutes of ordering it. After that, the evening had been full of laughter as the two exchanged friendly banter, and Lloyd even told her about some of the ninjas' earlier adventures, including their quest to stop the Overlord on the Dark Island. Needless to say, she had a good time.

"It was," she agreed, smiling at the green ninja.

Lloyd returned the smile. He was glad that he had decided to go with her this evening. It felt so easy to just talk to her; he never imagined it would've been this easy to open up to someone he had only known for a short period of time. A few weeks ago, she had been a complete stranger, and now he would go as far to consider her a close friend. Sure, he would always have his brothers to confide in, but he felt that Sam understood him more than they did sometimes. He was much more comfortable opening up to her about touchier subjects than his teammates, who always seemed to brush his problems off rather than just simply listening to what he had to say.

"We should do it again sometime."

Her blue eyes continued to gaze up at him, and he felt the heat in his cheeks rise the longer he stared at her. The sensation of her hand in his became more prominent, as the reality that they were alone began to settle in. Trying to hide the blush forming on his face, Lloyd shyly glanced down at his hand enveloped in hers.

"You know, Sam, it's been fun hanging out with you these past few days," he began, "and there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

Sam's heart skipped a beat at the strange, yet mysterious statement. "And what would that be?" she asked. A thousand possibilities went through her head, but she couldn't even guess what was on the green ninja's mind.

Lloyd swallowed nervously. Whatever he was trying to bring himself to say was proving to be difficult for him.

"Do you...think of me _that _way?"

The blonde tilted her head curiously. In her mind, it was obvious that she had feelings for him, so she wasn't sure what had prompted him to ask such a question.

"Of course, Lloyd, but I don't understand-"

"Because I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me again...like as a couple."

The last few words instantly made her stop in her tracks. Now she understood what the green ninja was asking. The last date she had went on with him, he had merely asked her to accompany him, as a girl he was interested in, but as a friend.

This time, he was asking her, in his own way, to be his official girlfriend.

Her eyes widened in realization. Of course, she had thought about what it might've been like to be the official girl standing by the green ninja's side, but she hadn't expected that scenario to become reality.

"Oh, uh-" she stammered, meeting Lloyd's eyes as he glanced up from his hand, awaiting an answer.

"I'm not forcing you," he reassured her. "I just wanted to know how you felt about us being...you know."

It had been well-established earlier that week that Lloyd had feelings for her when he confessed his feelings to her in the training room. But what did she actually think about being in a relationship with him?

"I know that things with you and Kai didn't go so great," he said. "But I'm willing to give it a shot if you are."

Even in the dark, Sam could see beads of perspiration beginning to form on his forehead. She figured he must've been working up the courage to ask her this whole evening.

_Now I know how Jay feels…_ Lloyd thought, considering how ridiculous he must've looked, acting like a nervous wreck in front of the girl he liked. Of course, she was going to say no.

"Actually," Sam started, causing his internal monologue to cease and redirect his attention towards her. "I'd like that."

Lloyd's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" It was hard not to sound joyful as a smile slowly spread across the green ninja's face.

Sam nodded. "I like you, Lloyd," she said. "And I want to try to be something more...with you."

Thinking back to when Lloyd had confessed his feelings to her a few days ago, Sam remembered how she had felt in the green ninja's embrace. She had found her heart beating faster in his presence, and the way looked at her made her feel...special.

She wondered if there were any other girls that he interacted with outside of the Bounty, like Kai and Skylor. A handsome young man such as him surely had to have caught some female's attention at one point or another. Yet, the green ninja didn't appear to interact much with the general public, unless he was at the comic book store, and even then, he would just head right back home. At least as long as she had been living on the Bounty, Lloyd seemed to only express interest in her, and while much of his background was still a mystery, that was good enough for her. He didn't seem like the cheating-type anyways.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that she had said yes to him. He had known that she may have liked him a little bit, he hadn't known that she had liked him _that_ much to want to be his official girlfriend.

"Wow," the green ninja breathed, his face beaming with happiness. "That's great, Sam, I...I don't know what to say."

Without thinking, his eyes flickered down to her lips, those soft, pink, strawberry-flavored lips had had kissed mere nights ago. His heart began to pound, overcome with the urge to feel them against his own once again. _Should I…?_ he thought, the cool night air feeling extra chilly against his flushed cheeks.

Sam watched the green ninja's emerald-green eyes as they studied her closely, and found herself blushing profusely. Was he going to try and kiss her?

Before she could process what was happening, the green ninja cupped her chin with her hand, forcing her to look at him. His vibrant green eyes bore into her sparkling orbs of blue, making her head spin. An array of emotions swirled inside of her, yet she allowed him to lean in closer, and found herself doing the same.

Suddenly, before the couple could react, the front door of the Bounty burst open.

"I thought I heard voic...oh," a voice sputtered, realizing he had just interrupted something.

Lloyd whirled around to find none other than the earth ninja standing in the doorway, his dark eyes wide at the sight of his brother and Sam holding hands, their faces nearly a centimeter apart.

Reluctantly, the green ninja pulled away from Sam, clearly annoyed by his teammate's interference.

"Yeah, Cole, we're back," Lloyd answered, brushing the imaginary dust off his hoodie. His voice had a slight bite to it, confirming the earth ninja's suspicions that his teammate, indeed, had been trying to make a move on their houseguest.

Sam glanced at the ground, embarrassed. She could only imagine how mortified she would have been if it had been another ninja who had opened the door.

Cole opened the door wider, allowing Lloyd and Sam to enter the Bounty. The couple went inside, noticing that everyone was still up. Lloyd had been correct when he had heard voices.

Walking into foyer, the couple could see that Jay and Nya were busily cleaning up the kitchen, putting the dishes from the afternoon back in the cupboards from the dishwasher. In the living room, Zane was sitting on the couch, watching television. Knowing his teacher, Lloyd guessed that Sensei had gone to bed, considering it relatively late. This left none other than Kai, who was currently missing.

"Where's Kai?" Lloyd asked, curious as to where his brother had gone.

Cole gave the green ninja a worried look. "He went to bed already," he answered. "Said he wasn't feeling well."

Lloyd nodded, but did not bother to make any comment. No doubt Kai's "illness" was psychological, not physical.

"So Skylor went home, then?" Sam piped up. Though she didn't admit it, she was concerned for the red ninja's well-being.

The earth ninja nodded. "Yep, said she had to be at the Noodle House bright and early tomorrow morning."

"I guess that's what it takes to own such a big business," Jay interjected from the kitchen, overhearing his friends' conversation. "Have to always be on-the-go, 24/7."

"Well, I'm sure that'll change once she gets married," Cole answered, waving his brother's comment aside. "I'm no relationship expert, but if a couple doesn't spend enough time with each other, it won't last."

Hearing the words "relationship" and "couple" come from the earth ninja's mouth, Sam remembered what her roommate had told her.

"Hey Cole, Brooke told me to tell you that she'll call you when she gets home," the blonde said, passing along the message.

The mention of the brunette immediately put a smile on the earth ninja's face.

"She likes me that much that she wants to call me again, huh?" he teased, though it was obvious he was partially fishing for information.

Sam couldn't help but crack a smile at his lovestruck expression. "I would say so."

A moment of silence passed among the friends until Lloyd emitted a large yawn.

"Ah, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna turn in for the night," he said, stretching his arms above his head.

"Alright, Lloyd, have a good night," Jay called out from the kitchen.

"Night, Lloyd," Nya added.

"Night, guys," the green ninja replied, giving them a small wave.

He then turned to Sam and smiled. "Night, Sam."

"Night, Lloyd," the blonde answered, returning the smile.

However, before she could comprehend what was happening, the green ninja leaned in and gave her a small peck on the cheek. "Have a good one," he whispered before he turned and disappeared into the hall.

As soon as he had left, Sam involuntary touched the spot where he had kissed her, her fingers cold against her burning cheeks. Her mind brought her to the evening where Kai and her had fallen asleep on the couch and he had given her a sweet goodnight kiss. It had been unexpected, just like this one.

Recovering from her initial shock, Sam was met with several surprised expressions, including Cole, who raised a brow curiously at what had just witnessed.

"Just friends? I don't think so," he said, folding his arms authoritatively. They already knew that Lloyd and Sam were somewhat of an item, but he wanted to give her a hard time about it.

"Yeah, it seems as though there's a little more to the story than meets the eye," Jay teased, waving a clean spoon at her from the kitchen.

Sam laughed, though it came out more forced than she had intended it to. "You know what, guys, I think I'm gonna go to bed too," she said. "I'm getting kind of tired."

"Alright," Nya called out. "I'll be there in a few."

"Okay," the blonde nodded, showing that she had heard her. "Goodnight, guys."

"Night, Sam."

She gave them a small wave before she, too, turned and headed to her room, eager for a good night's sleep.


	76. Chapter 76

Sam woke to the enticing aroma of pancakes wafting throughout the Bounty. She looked at her alarm clock and saw that it almost eight, meaning everyone was probably already at breakfast.

Still groggy from her sleep, the blonde reluctantly sat up from her bed and saw that from across the room, Nya also had not gotten up quite yet. The raven-haired girl was still peacefully dozing, wearing a small smile as if she was in the middle of a dream.

Sam couldn't remember when Nya had come into the room last night. Exhausted from the previous day, the blonde had passed out as soon as her head had hit the pillow. The previous evening especially had drained her energy. So many things had happened all at once: Brooke had come and gone, Skylor had made her appearance, and lastly, Lloyd had asked her to be his girlfriend, all within a matter of hours. Needless to say, it had been an eventful Saturday.

Seeing that her current roommate was still present, Sam figured it must've been Zane who was making breakfast. The blonde could already tell her mouth was watering at the thought of tasting the ice ninja's delicious pancakes. In addition, she heard her stomach growl, only encouraging her to get ready as soon as possible so she could sink her teeth into a golden-brown, cooked-to-perfection hotcake.

As always, Sam showered and threw some sweat clothes on before she planned to appear at the breakfast table. When she exited the bathroom, she saw that Nya had finally awakened from her slumber.

"Hey, Sam," the samurai said groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey, Nya," Sam greeted the girl cheerfully. "Late night, huh?"

Nya nodded. "Yeah," she yawned. "Jay and I ended up watching a movie after we were done with the dishes."

"That sounds like fun," Sam remarked. At the mention of a movie, she was reminded of the night she and Kai had stayed up to watch a movie, and how they had ended up falling asleep on the couch.

The samurai smiled. "It was," she said. "But now he's probably gonna regret it, since the boys have training today."

"True," Sam nodded. "But for him, it was probably worth it, just to spend some time with you."

A faint blush dusted the girl's cheeks. "I like to think that," she answered, shyly tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "Jay is absolutely wonderful. Sure, he has his imperfections and insecurities, but don't we all?"

Before the college student could think of a response, Nya had already moved onto another topic.

"I smell those pancakes," she said, lightly sniffing the air.

"Me too," Sam grinned. "I was trying to get ready as soon as I could so I could get some before they're gone!"

Nya laughed. "Well, you better do it quick, because knowing them, they'll eat 'em real fast!"

The blonde nodded, and quickly rushed to the door, while Nya found her motivation to get out of bed.

"Save some for me, okay?" the samurai said as she headed to the bathroom.

Sam chuckled. "Okay, I will," she promised.

While a hurry, the blonde didn't think to check and make sure no one was in the hall. The hallway was very narrow, only fitting about two people side-by-side, so the ninja had learned to be careful when opening the doors.

However, focused on the rumbling of stomach, Sam swung the door open, more forcefully than she had intended to, and instantly felt the door make contact with something, or someone.

"Ow!" a muffled voice said.

The blonde froze, immediately recognizing the sound of the person she had accidentally hit.

With some hesitancy, she peered out into hall, and saw that, indeed, she had been correct about who the voice belonged to.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Kai!" she exclaimed, her face heating up in embarrassment.

"It's okay, it's just a scratch," the red ninja answered, rubbing the spot his head where he had been hit.

Looking at him from more up close, Sam noticed the dark circles he was sporting under his eyes. It probably was safe to say that despite going to bed early, he hadn't gotten a sufficient night's sleep.

_He was probably thinking about Skylor, _she guessed, the thought tugging at her heartstrings ever so slightly.

A part of her sympathized for the spiky-haired brunette. She was sorry that he had had his heart broken by a girl he clearly cared about, but she was still was hurt by the fact that he had been dividing his attention between her and the redhead even when they were supposedly dating.

"You smelled Zane's pancakes, too, then?" she finally asked.

The corner of Kai's lips upturned slightly into a forced smile. "Ha, yeah. It's hard not to notice," he replied weakly.

Both of them let out a half-hearted chuckle before they each glanced down at the ground awkwardly.

"So...I guess I'll see you at breakfast," Kai said, casually averting his eyes away from her.

"...Yeah, I guess so," she answered.

Seeing there was nothing else to say, the red ninja gave her a brief nod before he headed off to the kitchen to join the others.

Sam's gaze lingered on his back before he disappeared into the hall completely. Emitting a small sigh, she reluctantly retreated back into Nya's room, shutting the door behind her. It would've been kind of weird for her to follow him anyways.

Up until this point, she hadn't really considered how the dynamic between her and Kai would change after she had entered a relationship with Lloyd. But now that she thought about it, it was going to be a _major_ adjustment.

_Could things get any more complicated?_ she thought, tiredly shaking her head.

"Was that my brother?" Nya asked, breaking through her thoughts. Apparently, the samurai had left the bathroom in time to witness the encounter between her and the red ninja.

Sam flashed the raven-haired girl a sheepish look. "Yeah."

Nya chuckled. "He always forgets to watch out for those doors," she said. "I swear he's danger-prone."

Sam remembered the first day she had met him at the grocery store. Even then, he had given her the impression that he was sort of clumsy.

"So, you ready to eat?" the raven-haired girl asked.

The blonde nodded. During her brief encounter with the red ninja, she had almost forgotten how hungry she was.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's just hope there's still some breakfast left."

* * *

"Hey guys," Nya said as she and Sam walked into the kitchen.

As the girls had expected, the ninja had already gathered in the kitchen for breakfast. And, to Nya's delight, she noticed that in the center of the table, there remained a small stack of golden-brown pancakes, cooked to perfection.

"I see you saved some for us," she remarked, eyeing the large stack of pancakes on each of the boys' plates.

"Of course," Cole said, his mouth full of the said breakfast item. "What'd you think? We'd eat them all?"

The samurai couldn't help but crack a smile at the earth ninja's comment.

"I know, what was I thinking?" she teased, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Join us, please," Zane said, motioning to the girls. "There are still plenty of pancakes to go around."

As Nya sat down next to her brother, Sam took a look around the table and immediately met the eyes of the green ninja, who flashed her a friendly smile.

The ninja already knew that they were together, so it didn't matter if they acted indifferent towards one another in front of the rest of them. And she no longer wanted to pretend that she didn't harbor feelings for the green-eyed hero.

"Hey," she said, walking over to the other side of the table where Lloyd was sitting.

"Hey, Sam," Lloyd answered, his emerald eyes twinkling. This morning, he was especially cheerful, and his brothers definitely noticed.

The green ninja pat the empty space next to him. "Come, sit," he said.

The college student smiled and carefully took a seat next to him, taking a moment to adjust to the new perspective of the room. It certainly felt different being in a new spot for once.

On the other side of Sam was Zane, who glanced at the fridge and saw that Jay had not sat down to eat yet.

"When I was growing up, my mom would always give me a glass of milk at breakfast," the blue ninja rambled into the refrigerator, rummaging for the milk jug. "Same with cookies - I always had to have cookies with milk."

Zane and Cole exchanged curious glances, partially because they were amused by their blue teammate's monologue, but also because they wondered how he would react to being moved out of his usual spot.

Humming to himself, Jay proceeded to pour milk into a glass at the counter, completely oblivious to the new situation. When he was done, he put the jug of milk back into the fridge, and turned around to face the table, only to find that someone was already occupying his seat.

Scanning the table, he saw that there was still an empty space between Kai and Nya.

"I guess I'll just sit here," he declared, squeezing in between the two siblings. That's when he saw Nya glare at him out of his peripheral vision.

"Which is definitely fine by me, hehe," he quickly added.

Nya knew the blue ninja was easily disturbed by any small change in the normal routine, so she understood, but still it was fun to tease him just a little.

"So, what are we working on in our training today?" Zane asked, trying to initiate productive conversation.

Cole shrugged. "Who knows what Sensei's got in store," he said, taking a bite of his waffles.

Looking behind Nya, Jay could see Kai was absorbed in his plate of waffles, subdued like he had been last week when this whole mess had started. He couldn't imagine what it would be like for him to lose Nya the way that Kai had lost Skylor, or even Sam for that matter...the closest thing was when he had almost lost Nya to Cole, and he remembered how painful that had been. Surely Kai felt the same, if not worse.

"What do you think, Kai?" the blue ninja asked, hoping to cheer his brother up, or at least get something out of him. "What do you think Sensei'll make us do?"

Kai turned and gave his teammate a blank look before glancing down at his plate, languidly playing with his fork.

"Beats me," he replied. "All I know is I'll be there."

Jay, like the others, was slightly taken aback by the red ninja's response.

"Okay…" he said, blinking in confusion.

"And we wouldn't have it any other way," Cole answered quickly, earning a nod of agreement from his brothers.

Lloyd and Sam watched the interaction between Kai and the others curiously, sensing the red ninja was not in the best of moods.

"So, Sam," the blond young man began, turning to their houseguest. "After training, do you, uh, wanna do something later?"

The last thing he wanted to focus on was Kai and his problems. Since the loss of his father, he could say that he was actually feeling good, and he didn't want his brother's mistakes to get in the way of that.

"Sure," Sam agreed. "What did you have in mind?"

The green ninja rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, I'm not sure yet," he answered. "But I'll think of something."

"Alright," the blonde chuckled. "Just let me know, and I'll be ready."

"Okay," Lloyd grinned. "Sounds good."

Suddenly, Sam's eyes widened. "Which reminds me, I need to finish something before tomorrow," she said. "Mr. Borg wanted me to review the blueprints and make some final adjustments."

"Sounds like he's keeping you busy," Lloyd remarked, smiling. "Do you still like working there?"

The college student nodded. "Definitely. I feel like I'm making a difference in the world, you know? Like I'm a part of something bigger."

"It's a good feeling, isn't it?" he asked. He was familiar with the feeling, being a ninja and all. The job was hard sometimes, but the satisfaction of helping others was well worth it.

"It is," she agreed. It was then that she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost nine. "I should probably do that now." she said, standing up from her seat.

"Have fun," Lloyd teased as she walked over to the sink and put her dirty dishes away.

"I will," she laughed.

By then, her movement had caught the attention of the others, who were watching the interaction between the green ninja and their houseguest curiously.

"Good luck with training, guys," she said, oblivious to the interesting looks her friends were wearing.

"Thanks, Sam," the other ninja answered, though it was clear that they were preoccupied.

As she walked past the table on her way out of the kitchen, she met the green ninja's gaze once more. "See you later, Lloyd."

"See ya, Sam."

He gave her one last nod before she disappeared into the hall, leaving him alone with his teammates, who were behaving strangely, and had been since Sam had shown up to breakfast.

Trying his best to ignore them, Lloyd helped himself to another pancake and began to pour the syrup on the sweet pastry, but continued to feel that he was being watched.

Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he looked up and was instantly met with the eyes of the others, mainly the eyes of Jay and Cole.

"What?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Cole smirked. "Did you ask her out on a _date_?" he asked. The rest of the ninja and Nya had caught the tail-end of their conversation, enough to know that they had plans later this afternoon.

"Yeah, where ya taking her?" Jay piped up, curious as to what his brother had in mind.

Lloyd paused. He had been about to cut into his last pancake, ignoring Cole's teasing, when the blue ninja put him on the spot. Instead of answering, he glanced up and shot his teammates a blank look.

"You don't know, do you?" Cole said, folding his arms across his chest in a fake-disapproving manner.

Lloyd's pride would not allow him to openly-admit that he truly did not know where he and Sam would be going this evening, so he wracked his brain, searching for an appropriate for response.

"No, uh, I do, it's just a surprise," he spluttered.

"Take her to Mama Li's."

Everyone froze, hearing another voice enter the conversation. They turned to look where the new voice had originated from, and saw that Kai, finished with his breakfast, was swirling his fork around on his empty, syrupy plate.

The others raised their brows curiously, wondering what had prompted his contribution to the conversation.

"What did you say, brother?" Nya asked, checking to see if she had heard the fire ninja correctly.

Kai glanced up and was met with several surprised expressions, but did not seem deterred by the looks he was recieving.

"I said Lloyd should take Sam to Mama Li's," Kai answered matter-of-factly, motioning towards his green-clad teammate. "She loved it there when I took her."

Lloyd let the red ninja's words sink in.

"Y-You think she'd like it?" he finally said, glancing at his other teammates, who shrugged.

"Yeah," Kai replied casually. "And ask for Dudley. The guy's a real hoot. She'll love it, I guarantee it."

"...Gee, thanks, Kai," he said, exchanging uncertain looks with the others.

Kai waved the younger ninja's thanks aside. "No problem." Either he was oblivious to the others' reactions, or he just didn't care.

Lloyd considered asking the red ninja if it would bother him that the place he was suggesting was the same place that Sam and him had gone right before their relationship went downhill, but quickly decided against it. Sure, he was still mad about the way his brother had treated Sam, and even him for that matter, but there was no reason to be uncivil about the whole ordeal. Certainly the green ninja could spare his teammate the pain that such a question might bring.

He would also double-check with Sam to make sure if it was okay with her. Depending on her personality, going back to the scene of the crime could possibly trigger some bad memories for her.

Overall, it wasn't the first place Lloyd would've thought of as a romantic first date as an official couple, but it was the only idea he had so far. He would just have to roll with it, even if it was Kai's idea.


	77. Chapter 77

Several hours later, Lloyd walked into the kitchen, in search of a midday snack.

It was break time for the ninja, and having endured a hour-long sparring session in the summer heat, the green ninja had worked up quite an appetite.

He opened the fridge and took out a soda, the can pleasantly cold in comparison to his body, which was currently drenched in sweat.

With that task completed, now he needed food.

Closing the fridge, Lloyd next sought the pantry, hunting for his favorite snack, chips. No other snack went better with soda than chips, at least in his opinion.

Grabbing a small bag of corn chips, he went to the living room and plopped down on the couch, letting out a tired sigh. It could've been his imagination, but it seemed like Sensei was making them work harder lately.

After setting his snacks down on the table, Lloyd opened his can of soda and took a sip of the cool, refreshing liquid. His uncle usually frowned upon him for drinking sugary drinks while trying to stay fit, but the green ninja still couldn't resist the sweet tooth he had had since he was a kid.

After he had relaxed for about a minute or so, the green ninja heard the sliding door open, followed by a pair of footsteps. They were too quiet to belong to his though his brothers had the ability to be quiet, it didn't necessarily mean they used that ability on a daily basis. Therefore, there was only one person those footsteps could've belonged to.

"Hello, Lloyd," a voice said.

Lloyd turned around to see his teacher enter the kitchen area.

"Oh, hey, Uncle," he answered. He then peered behind the older man and saw the ninja still hadn't come in yet.

"Where are the others?" he asked, frowning.

Sensei sighed. "Jay and Cole are having a very...animated debate outside," he replied, shaking his head slightly. "Zane and Kai are trying to calm them down." A small smile played across his features. "You boys sure know how to wear an old man out."

There was a moment of silence before the martial arts teacher spoke again.

"And how are you?" he asked, sitting down next to his young family member.

"Pretty good, Uncle," Lloyd answered, taking another sip of his drink.

Sensei eyed his nephew closely. "You appear to be in a better mood lately," he remarked, noting the large smile resting on his lips.

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah, I guess I am feeling a bit better," he replied. "I'm still upset, but I realize that there are other things to look forward to."

"Such as?" Sensei asked, tilting his head curiously.

Realizing what he had just said, Lloyd quickly became flustered.

"Oh, well, like the fact that my mom is visiting soon," he said, struggling to think of examples that _weren't_ related to Sam.

Wu's faded blue eyes widened in surprise. "Misako is coming?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, she said she was coming sometime this week. She would come earlier but she didn't know when she would be done deciphering her scroll, or something like that."

Sensei took a moment to process the new information. "That will be exciting," he commented. While he was happy to hear his sister-in-law was visiting, that wasn't what he wanted to speak with his nephew about. "Are you taking Sam out tonight?"

Lloyd's eyes widened in surprise. "H-how did you know about that?" he stuttered.

"A sensei's intuition." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Where will you be taking her?"

The green ninja avoided his teacher's gaze, embarrassed. "Uh, this Italian restaurant downtown," he answered.

"I see," Sensei remarked, "And have you talked with Kai about this?"

Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, no, not exactly," he replied. "But it was Kai who gave me the idea."

"Did he?" Wu asked. To be honest, he was surprised the red ninja would volunteer ideas in favor of Lloyd and Sam's relationship. "So you think Kai is okay with this?"

Lloyd shrugged. "I think so. I mean, he did give me the idea."

"True, but that does not necessarily mean he is not harboring some sort of jealousy towards you," Sensei pointed out.

At his uncle's words, the green ninja let out an exasperated sigh. "Why does it even matter how Kai feels?" he mumbled. "He's the one at fault."

"That is true," his teacher said. "Kai has made some mistakes that he isn't (and shouldn't) be proud of, and how he feels will not affect your relationship with Sam."

"Then why does it matter?" Lloyd reiterated. Deep down, he wasn't completely convinced that his teammate didn't care _at all _about his relationship with Sam, but he wasn't about to admit it to his uncle.

"All I'm suggesting is to put yourself in his shoes for a moment, and then you will have your answer."

Lloyd raised his brow at the cryptic message.

"What does that mean?"

Sensei's blue eyes twinkled, as if he was recalling something from his past.

"Brotherhood is a powerful thing, Lloyd. Do not let it slip away."

Before the young ninja could respond, they heard the sliding door open, followed by voices.

"I am telling you, _I_ won the match," Jay said as he walked into the kitchen.

"No way," another voice said, no doubt belonging to Cole. "The only reason you won was because you _cheated_."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Sensei, back me up here!"

On the couch, Lloyd saw his uncle roll his eyes at the banter between the two ninja.

"I better help straighten them out," the older man said, getting up from his seat on the sofa. But before he left, he placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"Make good choices, Nephew," he said.

The green ninja, though still puzzled by his uncle's message, nodded. "I will."

As his teacher left to break up the argument between the blue and the black ninja, Lloyd thought about what his teacher had told him.

He guessed he did feel kind of bad for Kai, but at the same time, he did not see any reason to act any differently towards him than he had before. The red ninja had made a mistake, and this was the consequence. His uncle was the one that had taught him that actions have consequences, after all. There was no reason for him to sacrifice his own happiness because of Kai's mistake.

Besides, he had bigger concerns at the moment, like what the heck was he going to wear tonight.

* * *

**Hey, guys, just wanted to thank you again for all your supported! I'm so glad that my story has kept you all in suspense, lol. ;) Anyways, things have been pretty peaceful since Skylor was there, don't you think? How do you guys think the date will go? And why is Kai acting so weird? Do you think Lloyd will heed Uncle Wu's advice? Stay tuned to find out! And as always, don't forget to rate and review! :D**


	78. Chapter 78

"Are you sure you're okay with coming here?" Lloyd asked as he and Sam walked into Mama Li's Restaurant later that evening.

"Of course! Like I said earlier, it's perfectly fine with me," Sam answered, giving him a reassuring smile.

Hands intertwined, the couple made their way to the hostess station, where a cheerful-looking hostess greeted them. Sam didn't believe it was the same one that she and Kai had seen when they had come here, but she looked just as friendly.

"Hi, welcome to Mama Li's. How may I help you this evening?" she asked in a pleasant voice.

"Hi, I made reservations for Lloyd Garmadon," the green ninja said, adjusting the collar on his shirt.

The hostess smiled. "Right this way," she said, motioning for them to follow.

As the hostess led the couple to their table, Sam casually nudged Lloyd in the shoulder.

"She didn't even check to see if you actually had a reservation listed in the book," she remarked, amazed.

Lloyd grinned. "Hey, that's what you get for sharing the same last name of the First Spinjitzu Master."

When they reached their table, the couple took their seats, then were handed their menus by the hostess. "Enjoy your meal," she said before she darted off, leaving Sam and Lloyd to talk amongst themselves.

"Speaking of spinjitzu..." the green ninja began, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "We haven't had a training session in a while."

Sam nodded. "That's true," she said. "I guess I forgot about it after all the madness that's been going on."

"Would you be interested in continuing with your training?" he asked curiously. "I know things haven't been the smoothest for you."

The whole reason that she had wanted to learn Spinjitzu in the first place was because of Kai, but now that they were no longer together, Lloyd wondered if she still had the desire to learn the ancient martial art.

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I think I would still be interested," she said. "I mean, why not? Plus, I have a good teacher," she added, flashing him a grateful smile.

Lloyd felt himself blush at the compliment. "I mean, I'm not that great…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

He was about to change the subject when the couple was greeted by their server. He looked to be in his late twenties, with short, dark hair and a slim build.

Sam internally gasped as she read the name tag on the waiter's shirt.

"Good evening, my name is Dudley, and I will be your waiter for this evening," the man said, flashing the couple a friendly smile.

Sam and Lloyd exchanged subtle glances. This was indeed the waiter that had served her and Kai when they had dined at this restaurant.

"Can I start you off with some drinks?" the waiter asked politely.

Lloyd glanced at Sam before answering. "I'll take a glass of lemonade," he said. "What about you, Sam?"

"I'll just take a glass of water," the blonde replied.

Dudley nodded. "I shall return with your drinks in a moment."

The waiter glanced back at Sam before disappearing into the kitchen. Observant as she was, Sam noted the action.

"I think he recognized me," she said, once the server was out of sight. "He didn't ask us if we wanted wine."

Lloyd chuckled. "I was gonna say, if he had asked us, I would've told him he needs his eyes checked, considering how young I look." His brothers, especially Kai, never failed to remind him that he was the youngest member of the team.

A moment of silence passed before the green ninja spoke again.

"You look nice, Sam," he said, admiring the light blue sundress that she wore this evening for their date.

"Thanks," she answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You look nice too."

This evening, Lloyd had settled for his spring-green button-up shirt to wear for the date. It was similar to the forest-green shirt he had worn when she had first visited the Bounty, but the lighter green also looked good on him.

"You know, my brother's favorite color is green," she added.

Lloyd laughed. "Well, I'd say he's got good taste, then."

Soon, Dudley came back with the beverages, and gently placed them on the table.

"There you are," he said, placing the lemonade and water in front of Lloyd and Sam, respectively. "Now, are you ready to order?"

The couple had been so busy that they had forgotten about what they wanted to eat.

Lloyd quickly picked up his menu and skimmed over the different meal choices. "Uh, we might need a few more minutes."

Dudley nodded. "Very well. I will plan to check up on you in just a bit."

The waiter disappeared once more, giving the couple a few more minutes to talk amongst themselves.

Lloyd studied the menu.

**Torta Rustica, Focaccia, Zuppa Toscana, Fettuccine Alfredo.**

"Hey, I think Cole said he likes the fettuccine alfredo, or whatever it's called," he commented, his eyes scanning the different entrées listed.

"Yeah, Kai told me that Cole is Italian," Sam said, also studying the menu.

"Half Italian," Lloyd corrected her. "He once told me that his father was, but that's the only time he's ever said anything about his family."

"Well, Brooke's Italian, or at least half," the blonde girl replied. "I'm guessing she's not 100 percent because her last name isn't Italian, and her dad doesn't really look Italian, at least from what I've seen." She then looked up from her menu. "What about you, Lloyd?" she asked, referring to his family heritage.

Lloyd glanced up from his menu, taking a moment to process her question, then shrugged. "Don't know, really," he answered. "I know my mom has some Irish in her, and my dad and Uncle Wu are part English, I think. I also have a bit of Japanese in me, but don't ask me where that came from." He chuckled inwardly at the last part. "What's your family, Sam?"

"Mostly Scottish," Sam said. "Miller is a fairly common last name in Scotland. I also have some German and French blood in me."

"Ah," the green ninja nodded in understanding. "It's cool that you can trace your family's ancestry back like that. I mean, my mom has a long line of relatives, but on my father's side, the only relative I have is the First Spinjitzu Master."

Sam nodded, recognizing the name. "He's the one who created Ninjago, right?"

"He created _everything_ in Ninjago," Lloyd said, his eyes wide with enthusiasm. "Uncle Wu and my mom have told me stories about him."

"I'm guessing that means you've never met him, then?" she asked.

Lloyd shook his head. "No, I haven't," he replied. "But I've heard enough stories to know he was an amazing person. And now that I have inherited his power, I have to do everything I possibly can to protect it."

"Do you like having his power?" Sam asked. The blonde herself didn't have any magical relatives, so she couldn't really relate, but she guessed he has mixed feelings about it.

"Yes and no," Lloyd answered. "I like having it because it makes me feel important, but it also means I have lot of responsibility." He sighed. "My uncle always stresses how it's an honor to possess such great power, but sometimes I wish I could just throw it away and give it to someone else for a day, you know?"

Sam nodded, her blue eyes sympathetic. "I understand," she said. "You're afraid someone might take advantage of you because you have such power "

Lloyd's expression hardened. "Right. When we were defeating the Overlord a while back, my father warned me that I have to be careful about who I trust, even those closest to me."

Sam frowned, processing the information. "Kai said that he always wanted to be the green ninja, even after they found out it was you."

Lloyd raised a brow at the mention of his red teammate for the second time that evening, but quickly brushed it off. "Yeah, Kai has always had big ideas," he said, subtly rolling his eyes. "I knew that since the day I met him. When he gets something stuck in his head, it's almost impossible to snap him out of it. In fact, when we were fighting Master Chen, I found out he was still harboring some jealousy towards me. Little does he realize that being the green ninja runs deeper than just signing autographs," he rambled on, talking more to himself than to her.

Sam gazed down at the table, her mind beginning to wander. Taking in what the green ninja had said, her thoughts drifted towards the spiky-haired brunette. She had been presented with a snapshot of Kai's stubbornness and hotheadedness Friday night, when he had lost his patience with his teammates, especially Lloyd. When he lost his temper, he could be just plain rude and insensitive, the exact opposite of the young man she had first met at the grocery store in the spring. And the way he had spoken to her, and to Lloyd, had caused her to raise her voice, something she rarely did, ever.

She hadn't meant to snap at him like that, but he had brought out such intense emotion in her. She was an emotional person by nature, but her emotions had never run so deep, and so out of control. At that very moment, she had truly been angry. Angry with him, angry at Skylor, angry at herself. Angry that she trusted him with her heart, only to find that his heart belonged to someone else.

Then there was the young man currently sitting across the table. Now, Lloyd had the complete opposite effect on her. The green ninja was even, balanced, consistent. Never too much of one thing at one time. He was calm, collected, and kept his temper in check, even when he was wrongly accused of something that was not his fault. He was her rock in her time of need, so to speak, yet she found herself wondering if Kai could do the same. Even in the red ninja's darker moments, was the sweet, kind, and considerate young man she had met still existing below the surface?

Before she could come up with an appropriate response, Dudley returned.

"Have you reached a decision yet?" he asked the couple politely.

Lloyd glanced at Sam, who gave him a subtle nod. "Actually, I think we have," the green ninja said, closing his menu. "I'll have the fettuccine alfredo. What about you, Sam?"

"I'll have the fettuccine alfredo as well," the blonde said, handing her menu to the waiter.

"Excellent choice," Dudley remarked. "The fettuccine will take a few minutes to prepare, so just let me know if you need anything else in the meantime."

"Alright, we will," Lloyd said, flashing Sam a knowing look.

Sam caught a glimpse of the green ninja's expression and smiled. While he wasn't going to broadcast his opinions about their friendly server in public, she could tell he was amused by the waiter's antics as well. Just like Kai was.

* * *

**Hey guys, long time no see? It's been a while since I've last updated, so I hope you all can forgive me, lol. Anyways, what do you guys think of Sam and Lloyd's relationship so far? Do you think it will last? As always, I greatly appreciate all of your support, and don't forget to rate and review! **


	79. Chapter 79

**Hey everyone! I know I just updated recently, but I really wanted to write another one, to make up for lost time. So, without further ado, enjoy another chappie! :)**

* * *

Kai ran a hand through his damp hair as he headed for the kitchen, in search of a snack to tide him over before dinner. It was Zane's turn to cook dinner, and the red ninja could hardly bear to wait until suppertime before having food, especially when thinking about the ice ninja's cooking. Just the thought made his mouth water, and his stomach growl.

He was walking to the kitchen when he heard the sound of voices coming from the training room. Training was over, but not for Lloyd. Since the secret was out that the green ninja was teaching Sam Spinjitzu, their training sessions were no longer held in private, and while Kai was relieved that they weren't going behind his back anymore, he still couldn't help but feel a tinge of bitterness towards his younger teammate.

"Okay, let's work on your Spinjitzu stance," Lloyd's voice echoed into the hallway.

Kai rolled his eyes at the authoritativeness in the younger ninja's words. Once again, Lloyd was acting like he was superior to everyone else. Any one of the ninja could teach Sam how to do the ancient martial art, including Kai himself. It wasn't like Lloyd was the only one eligible for the job.

Speaking of which, why did Sam want to learn Spinjitzu in the first place, anyway?

Curiosity getting the best of him, Kai quietly peered in the doorway, taking a peek at the lesson.

Sam was currently standing in the middle of the training room, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, head forward. Kai guessed she was about to try to form a tornado, though he noticed one minor problem: her shoulders were slightly hunched over and her elbows were crooked. If she was going to do Spinjitzu, she would surely fall over. When doing Spinjitzu, Kai knew one's stance had to be perfect, otherwise you couldn't execute the martial art properly, and you could risk hurting yourself in the process.

"Now, try spinning around, starting slowly, then gradually build up your speed," Lloyd ordered.

Kai's eyes widened in alarm. Couldn't Lloyd see that her posture wasn't right? He couldn't just stand by and watch Sam fall. He had to do something.

Normally he wouldn't be in the mood to interfere, especially when it involved Sam or Lloyd, but the thought of Sam hurting herself concerned him, and he needed to make sure that she didn't fall.

"Actually," Kai heard himself say as he stepped through the doorway.

Both Lloyd's and Sam's heads turned toward the direction of the red ninja's voice.

"You need to make sure your posture is perfect before you do any sort of spinning," he explained, walking into the training room.

Sam glanced down at her feet and saw her feet were properly spaced and her knees were bent.

Lloyd folded his arms, obviously annoyed by his older brother's intrusion. "And what's wrong with her posture now?" he demanded, eyeing the red ninja suspiciously.

"Well, for starters, her elbows aren't parallel," Kai explained. "If they're not even, she could risk losing her balance. You of all people should know that, Lloyd."

The green ninja snorted. "Shouldn't she figure those types of things out by herself?" he said.

"Maybe," Kai said, walking up to Sam. "But in this case, if she doesn't learn the right way the first time, it'll be hard to break the habit. Plus, she could hurt herself."

"I would catch her, you know?" Lloyd retorted. "Sensei says I am on the path to becoming a sensei."

"Sensei _also_ says that you still have much to learn," Kai replied, his gaze travelling towards the blonde college student.

His eyes met Sam's. "Here, let me show you."

Sam tried not to show her surprise as Kai walked behind her and delicately placed his hands on her arms.

"Now," Kai instructed from behind her, "you want make sure your elbows are always at a 90 degree angle," he said, gently guiding her elbows to the correct position. To Sam, his hands felt extremely warm against her bare skin; it was hard not to blush at the contact.

Meanwhile, Lloyd observed his brother, silently glowering at him as he assisted his girlfriend. Who was he to barge in and interrupt their training session?

After adjusting her arms, Kai assessed her posture. "Your shoulders are bent slightly inwards," he remarked.

Without thinking, he put his hands on her shoulders, causing her to flinch slightly. From up close, he caught a whiff of strawberry, the scent emitting from her blonde tresses, which were currently put up in a ponytail. He was suddenly struck with the urge to run his fingers through the silky strands. He didn't understand why he was overcome with such feelings. All he knew was that he enjoyed being close to her.

"She isn't going to learn on her own if people keep assisting her."

Lloyd's voice broke through red ninja's thoughts. As he came back down to earth, he realized that he had been holding his breath.

"She needs to figure stuff out on her own."

Kai glanced up and saw Lloyd's green eyes were piercing, clearly annoyed with his interference.

The red ninja immediately let go of Sam, but held his brother's gaze in the process. "I just wanted to make sure she didn't hurt herself," he said, raising his hands in the air. "But I get it, Lloyd, you're the teacher. And since you're the teacher, I'll let you be."

He turned away from the both of them, his eyes lingering on Sam before he walked out of the training room. He couldn't explain it, but he was desperate to get out of there.

Lloyd watched him exit, arms still folded as the red ninja disappeared from sight.

"What's his problem?" he muttered, looking towards the door.

Sam glanced at the doorway, unsure of what to think. It had been strange of Kai to come in, especially when she and Lloyd had been together in the same place. But, more importantly, she was surprised by how she had reacted when the red ninja had assisted her. She could've sworn when the red ninja had touched her, she had felt an electric current run through her entire body, as if she had gotten shocked. His help had been strictly platonic, so why did her face still feel hot? Was it embarrassment? Was the room warmer than usual? Either of those, would've been a reasonable excuse, except, along with the other two sensations, she had felt something similar to her heart fluttering in her chest, as if she had enjoyed his touch, enjoyed his closeness. But that was silly, since she had gotten over him...right?

This was wrong. She was with Lloyd now. Everything was going great, so there was no reason for her to be dissatisfied. Yet, she couldn't ignore the tiny voice inside her head that had been comforted by histhe red ninja's presence.

"Ready to get back to training, Sam?" Lloyd asked. "Without any interruptions?"

The blonde turned to her companion and forced herself to smile.

"Yeah," she said. "Let's continue."


	80. Chapter 80

It was Saturday.

And Saturday usually meant that everyone would be gone for the afternoon. Zane and Cole had decided to catch a movie at the theater downtown, and Jay and Nya were going to the hardware store to pick up a few new replacement tools.

And then there was Kai.

He had overheard during breakfast that Lloyd and Sam were going to the park to play tennis, an activity the red ninja remembered doing with Sam before they had their falling out.

Which left Kai with nothing else to do but mope around the Bounty.

Therefore, after Zane, Cole, Lloyd and Sam had left to do their respective activities, Jay had gone to the ninjas' room to freshen up, only to find Kai lying on his bed, apathetically flipping through one of Lloyd's comic books.

"Hey," Jay greeted his teammate as he walked into the bedroom.

"Hey," Kai answered, his eyes remaining on the comic.

The blue ninja immediately noticed something was up with his friend. "Whatcha up to?"

"Nothin' much," the red ninja responded dully. "I mean, what else do I have to do?"

Jay opened his mouth to answer, but quickly shut it when realized that he didn't have any great suggestions.

"Good question," he said, surveying the room. "What _do_ you do on the weekend?"

"Well, the last few weekends I've been hanging out with Sam," Kai remarked, still staring at the comic. "But, as you probably already know, that doesn't seem to be an option anymore."

Jay rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I figured just as much," he replied, chuckling nervously. "Since you know, Sam is with Lloyd now and…"

His brother flashed him a look, causing him to freeze.

"So," he said, clearing his throat, "what were you thinking of doing instead?"

Kai shrugged. "Don't know. Just stay home, I guess."

Jay glanced down at the ground in thought."You know...me and Nya were gonna go to the hardware store this afternoon," he said. "Do you wanna come with us?"

The red ninja frowned. "I don't know…"

"Come on, at least you'll get some fresh air," Jay insisted. "Even if we are, you know, inside a hardware store…"

Kai was silent for a moment. At first, the blue ninja thought that he was going to say no, until he finally looked up from his comic and nodded.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll go with you guys."

And with that, the red ninja sat up and jumped down from his bunk. "At least I'll be doing something."

"Hey, that's the spirit!" Jay grinned as he clapped his teammate on the back. "Just let me brush my teeth and the three of us will go."

* * *

"Hey, you're pretty good at this, Lloyd!" Sam exclaimed as she swung at the oncoming tennis ball.

Earlier that morning, the couple had decided that they would hit the courts in honor of their first week as a couple. Sam wanted to get out and away from the others - her last encounter with Kai had left her with a funny feeling, one that she was having trouble shaking off. Lloyd, however,was just glad he had something else to do besides sit on the couch and read comic books.

"I know, I'm actually getting a workout!" he called from the other side of the court.

It was true. The green ninja had never really played any sports, besides maybe kickball at Darkley's, but he hadn't known that he would like tennis so much. It required all the skills needed to do Spinjitzu: coordination, balance, flexibility, everything. Not only that, but it was more fun than training.

Sam smiled as the ball bounced back in Lloyd's court, only for the green ninja to return it in one graceful swing. He was a natural; if only she had known sooner, she would've asked him to accompany her a long time ago. It would've been nice to have someone to go with her during her freshman year of college. But today she was just glad that she and Lloyd could bond over something that they both enjoyed.

"You're not too bad yourself, Sam!" The green ninja added.

When the tennis ball returned to Lloyd, it appeared that it would bounce on the furthermost corner of his court, so Sam didn't think he would be able to hit it. However, like a hawk, his eyes zeroed on the tennis ball, and in one quick motion, he jumped and somersaulted in midair, hitting the ball in the process before it even touched the ground.

Shocked, Sam wasn't prepared to return the ball, so when Lloyd hit it, it slammed into her court, leaving her flabbergasted.

Lloyd couldn't help but smile, seeing her surprised face. "I caught you off guard, didn't I?" he teased, running a hand through his blond bangs, which were now drenched in sweat.

"A little," Sam laughed, her eyes wide in amazement. "It's not everyday you get to see a ninja put his skills to good use to win a tennis match."

"Eh, it's less impressive than it looks," he said, waving her compliment aside.

"Like when Kai and I played, he did Spinjitzu," Sam rambled on. "That's how I found out how you guys can do that."

"He did now?" Lloyd said, raising an eyebrow. Again, he was surprised at yet, another mention of Kai.

"Yeah," Sam nodded, her eyes twinkling with enthusiasm. "That's what made me want to learn Spinjitzu in the first place."

"Well, it's a nice skill to have," Lloyd answered, trying to change the subject."You can do lots of stuff with it. Plus, it's great for self-defense."

"Yeah," Sam said, her face morphing into a look of disappointment. "I guess that's why I still want to learn, even if it's not for Kai."

Her head lowered slightly, causing Lloyd to feel a tinge of sympathy towards his girlfriend. Obviously she was still hurting at the loss of his red teammate, which was understandable, he guessed, but to be honest, he didn't like hearing her talk about him.

"Hey, cheer up, Sam," Lloyd encouraged."You don't want to waste such a nice day thinking about him. Let's wrap things up here and go get some ice cream," he suggested.

Sam lifted her head and met the young ninja's gaze. He was trying, which was what mattered.

The blonde nodded. "I would like that," she said. "Let's pack up the equipment, then we'll go."


	81. Chapter 81

"I'm glad you came with us, Kai," Nya said as she walked with her brother and Jay to the hardware store.

Kai trailed behind the couple, taking in the scene around him. The city was bustling this Saturday afternoon; everybody was out, enjoying the pleasant summer day. Except for him.

"Well, I figured since I got nothing else to do, I'd go with you guys. Beats being by myself."

"Well, that's one way to look at it," Nya answered, casting a knowing glance at her boyfriend. She and Jay knew Kai was still upset about having lost both Skylor and Sam. It would definitely take him some time to heal, even if he was supposedly over the blonde college student.

"So, what are we picking up exactly?" Jay asked, redirecting the conversation. "Most of the Bounty has already been fixed."

"That's true, Jay," Nya said, nodding. "I was thinking we'd get some new tools, in case the Bounty does decide to break down again. We need some new drill bits, screwdriver heads, and maybe a couple new wrenches, since the ones we have are getting a bit rusty."

"Hmm, good point," Jay said, running a hand through his auburn locks. "We should probably replace them more often."

As the couple continued their conversation, Kai looked towards the street and saw that they were passing by the ice cream shop across the way. He was immediately reminded of Sam and the day they played tennis, when their relationship was fresh and new. Afterwards they had gone out for ice cream, and that's when he had placed his hand on top of hers, gazed into her blue eyes, and had told her they should meet up again sometime. So much had changed since then.

"Kai?" Nya's voice broke through the red ninja's thoughts.

"Come again?" Kai asked, shaking his head as he came back to reality.

"Do you wanna get some lunch?" his sister asked. "We can stop by Burger Lord on the way."

"Yeah, sure, that's fine," he answered quickly, hoping to hide the fact that anything was off. Thankfully, Nya didn't seem to notice.

"Cool, 'cause I don't know about you guys, but all this talk of fixing the Bounty made me work up quite an appetite."

* * *

It was about 2 o'clock when Lloyd and Sam returned to the Bounty. After playing tennis, the couple was kind of tired, so they decided to take it easy the rest of the day.

"So what movie do you wanna watch?" Lloyd asked as they walked through the front door.

Sam shrugged. "Whatever you wanna watch is fine with me."

The corners of the green ninja's lips twitched upwards. "So you would watch some old Fritz Donegan movies with me, then?"

"Sure," the blonde laughed. "I trust your judgement."

Suddenly, they heard a muffled voice coming from inside the ship.

"Lloyd! Is that you?"" a female voice called.

Both Lloyd and Sam jumped hearing the green ninja's name being called. Since it was Saturday, they had assumed that they would be alone on the Bounty for the remainder of the afternoon. And to Sam, the voice was unfamiliar. Nya was out with Jay, she assumed, and the voice was too reserved-sounding to be Brooke's voice.

"Mom?!" Lloyd answered, his eyes widening in surprise.

An older woman emerged from the hallway. She was wearing a cream-colored button-up shirt, along with a green ascot and dark green cargo pants. Judging from the attire, Sam thought she could guess who the woman was.

"Son!" the woman exclaimed as she ran up to greet her offspring, giving him a warm, tight hug.

After she pulled away, Lloyd was at a complete loss for words. "Mom...wha-what are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

Misako smiled. "Well, after I finished deciphering my latest scroll, I thought I'd take a break from my work and visit you all."

It was then she noticed the young woman standing behind her son.

"And who might this be?" she asked.

Sam and Lloyd exchanged knowing glances.

"Mom," the green ninja began, turning to the blonde, "this is my...girlfriend, Sam."

He bit his lip nervously, anticipating her reaction.

Misako was silent for a moment, before a huge smile spread across the her face.

"Oh, Lloyd!" she gasped, enveloping the young ninja in a tight hug. "My little boy is growing up!"

"Mom!" Lloyd protested as he was squished against her. "You're embarrassing me."

Sam tried to hold in her chuckles as the woman embraced her son.

"Sorry, sorry," Misako apologized, realizing she was acting a bit over the top. "I'm just so happy for you."

She reluctantly pulled away, and redirected her attention to her son's girlfriend.

"Hello, Sam," she said, outstretching a hand towards the younger woman. "I'm Misako, Lloyd's mother."

Sam nodded respectfully. "Nice to meet you, Misako," she said, gratefully taking the older woman's hand.

"So, uh, where is Sensei?" Lloyd asked, looking around.

"Wu is in his quarters, reviewing some old scrolls I found," Misako answered. "He and I were discussing what they could possibly mean."

As if on cue, the three heard footsteps, and were soon greeted by Sensei, who walked into the living area.

"Ah, I see one ninja has returned," the older man said, eyeing the pair.

"Yeah, Sensei, we just got back," Lloyd replied. "We were gonna watch a movie, but-"

"Why don't the four of us sit down and talk," Misako suggested. "I would sure like to catch up with you all, and get to know your little girlfriend better."

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Mom…" he muttered, but knew that it was probably useless to correct her.

"Sure, that sounds nice," Sam said, blushing at the older woman's remark. She felt slightly self-conscious at the attention she was receiving from her boyfriend's parent, but nonetheless it was flattering.

Misako smiled. "Great, why don't we sit in the dining room? I'll make us some snacks."

* * *

**So, Sam meets Lloyd's parents for the first time...one of them, at least. Sorry this chapter is a bit short, but I thought this would be a nice ending point. I'm currently working on the next chapter, so be prepared for that! Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and good luck to those who have already gone back to school or are going soon! Hope you all are having a fantastic year so far! :D**


	82. Chapter 82

"Ah, here are the nails," Jay said as he and Nya wandered through the hardware store.

Kai trailed behind the couple, glancing around at the merchandise with a disinterested expression. At least he had gotten some lunch out of the little outing, so the trip hadn't been for nothing.

Though to be honest, the red ninja was very, very, bored.

"Great!" Nya exclaimed, looking at the different packs of nails. "What size do you think we'll need?"

Jay thought for a moment. "Eh, we should probably get the quarter inch ones," he said. "Most of the computer's nails are that size."

"But what about the air conditioning?" Nya asked. "I thought those nails were half an inch."

"You know, I don't really remember," Jay said, shrugging sheepishly.

"And if it breaks down again, I don't wanna run out just for that," Nya added. "Maybe we should get some of those as well, just in case."

The blue ninja nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he said, grabbing a bag of nails off the shelf. "Which reminds me, we need some machine oil. I think we're running low."

"Good idea," Nya agreed. It was then that the samurai noticed that something was off. Her brother hadn't said a word since they had entered the store. She turned around to find Kai staring off into space, his brown eyes distant and detached, almost...sad.

"You okay, brother?" she asked, her brows knitted in concern.

Hearing his sister's voice, the red ninja's head turned to face her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kai said quickly.

Truth was, as his mind had been wandering due to boredom, he had been thinking about Sam. What he would've been doing with her right now if he hadn't messed things up with her. All the fun they said they would have this summer

Everything had been going great until he had thought he'd seen Skylor. If he had only known she didn't feel the same way, that she had moved on and had found someone else. Sam had reciprocated his feelings. Skylor had not. He had traded something fresh and new for something old and comforting, a relationship that no longer existed, one that was all in his head.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Nya asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I know engineering isn't your thing, but you look awfully upset."

The red ninja sighed. "Nya, I'm fine," he insisted.

At this point, Jay looked up, overhearing the conversation between the siblings.

"What's the matter?" he asked innocently, unaware of any problem.

However, Kai was slowly becoming agitated with the whole situation.

"Nothing, Jay," the red ninja said, raising his voice.

Jay studied his teammate with great skepticism, but decided he did not want to aggravate the fire ninja.

He shrugged, turning back to the merchandise. "I was just asking…"

"Okay, fine!"

Kai's sudden outburst startled both the samurai and the blue ninja, who whirled back around upon hearing his teammate's exclamation.

Realizing he had caused Jay and his sister to jump in alarm, Kai took a deep breath.

"You were right, Nya...I'm not okay," he mumbled softly.

Both Nya and Jay's eyes widened in surprise. They knew that Kai was hurting, but they didn't know why he was being so vocal about it.

"We're listening," Nya said, encouraging him to continue.

Kai sighed once more before meeting both their gazes.

"The truth is…" he began, "...I still have feelings for Sam."

Nya gasped softly, while Jay blinked in shock.

"And while I tried to be supportive of Lloyd and Sam's relationship...I'm not."

A long silence passed before Nya found the courage to speak.

"Wha-why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

The red ninja agitatedly ran a hand through his hair.

"I couldn't find it in me to tell her," he admitted. "After the way I treated her, it was clear that she was happier with him."

"They do seem to be close," Jay remarked, earning a nudge from Nya. "B-but that doesn't mean it'll work out, even if Lloyd is, like, perfect for her…" he rambled on.

Kai grimaced at his teammate's words.

"I had my chance, Jay," he said. "It's over."

Nya and Jay exchanged uncertain glances. Honestly, they didn't know what to do. They didn't want to encourage bad blood between him and Lloyd, but if Kai was still serious about Sam, they didn't want him to mope around, full of regret.

"It'll be up to her, Kai," Nya said, giving her brother a pat on the shoulder. "The only thing you can do is tell her how you feel."

"When you're ready," Jay added.

The blue ninja didn't think it was likely that Sam would return to Kai after what he did. In fact, she seemed perfectly content with Lloyd at this point. However, either way, if it ever came down to Sam choosing between the two of them, someone was going to end up unhappy.

* * *

"Aaand, we just thought, why not give it a shot?" Lloyd said, as he finished relaying the story of how he and Sam got together to his mother.

Misako, Lloyd, Sam, and Sensei Wu sat at the table next to the kitchen, making pleasant conversation to pass the time until the others returned.

"Very nice," Misako nodded. She had to admit, it was an intriguing tale, one that she could relate to quite well. Especially from Sam's perspective. But, in the end, she was glad that the young woman was content with her choice.

The green ninja cleared his throat awkwardly, as he couldn't think of anything to add to the story. Plus, he could feel his uncle's eyes studying him curiously, which was making him a tad uncomfortable.

"So, uh, anything new with you, Mom?" he asked.

The grey-haired woman shook her head. "No, not really. Ever since your father...left, I've been keeping myself busy, learning all I can about Ninjago's history," she explained. "A part of me hopes to find a clue, _something_ that might help bring him back, but so far, I haven't had any luck."

A solemn silence fell over the group. Sam knew that the topic of Garmadon was still a very touchy subject for the family.

"It'll be okay, Misako," Wu said as he reached across the table and placed his hand on top of his sister-in-law's.

No one knew if Garmadon could ever come back to Ninjago. But, if there was an answer somewhere, all the family could do was pray that they would find it.

While Sensei was consoling Misako, Sam snuck a glance at Lloyd, who was staring down at the table, his cheery demeanor replaced by a stoic expression.

"It's okay, Lloyd," Sam said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm here for you."

The green ninja flashed her a grateful smile as the sparkle in his eyes quickly returned. "Thanks."

As soon as he said it, the group heard the front door open, along with two pairs of footsteps.

"Is anyone here?" a voice said.

The Garmadons and Sam turned to find Cole and Zane walk into the kitchen.

"Heeey, Misako!" Cole exclaimed as he saw the older woman.

"Hi, boys," Misako greeted the pair, giving them each a warm smile.

"Misako has decided to stay with us for a couple of days," Wu explained.

The earth ninja and the ice ninja nodded in acknowledgment. "Cool," Cole said. "The more the merrier."

Zane looked around. "I'm assuming Jay and Nya have not returned?" he inquired.

Lloyd shook his head. "They said they'd be back later this afternoon."

"Did Kai go with them?" Cole asked curiously.

"Don't know, haven't seen him," the green ninja answered, shrugging.

"Jay informed me that Kai went with them while we were out," Zane told his teammates, who nodded in understanding.

While the ninja were talking, Misako noticed that Sam had glanced down at her lap, not participating in the conversation. The poor girl probably felt partially responsible for Kai not having anyone to spend the day with. In her younger days, she had experienced similar feelings of guilt. When she had chosen Garmadon, Wu had been pushed aside. Not intentionally, of course, but over the years, he had maintained a third wheel status, which had always made her feel sorry for him. But there was nothing she could've done. She had made her choice, and the only thing she could've done was let the chips fall where they may.

"Haha, I bet that was Nya's doing," Cole joked. "There's no way Jay would let anyone interfere with their 'quality time.'"

"Either way, it was a kind gesture," Zane pointed out. "I sense Kai should keep himself busy, to avoid any feelings of being 'down in the dumps.'"

"Very wise, Zane," Sensei piped up from his seat at the table. "High emotions without something to channel them can lead to destructive behavior, if one is not careful."

Cole folded his arms. "Yeah, Kai has demonstrated that once or twice in the past few weeks," he said, frowning. While he had forgiven his teammate for the outburst he had had at breakfast a couple weeks ago, his actions since then had been less than stellar, especially when Skylor had visited.

Wu nodded. "I agree that he has made some bad decisions. However, the least we can do is have faith that he will compensate for those choices," he said. "As his brothers, you four need to guide him back on a more productive path, and, as a team, try to seek wholeness with one another again." His gaze remained on the three ninja present. "If any of you were in his position, I imagine you would want him to do the same."

His students bowed respectfully. "Yes, Sensei," they echoed.

"Peace will prevail amongst you eventually," he added, "as long as you understand that Kai will need time to sort things out before he starts to rebuild bridges."

His eyes rested on Lloyd and Sam, who nodded in understanding.

Misako observed her son and his new girlfriend. While their relationship was fresh, she hoped that everything would work out between Sam and her son, and especially him and his teammate. She knew both he and Kai were sensitive and highly intuitive, following their heart rather than logic. She could only pray that their feelings would not destroy their friendship, and that neither of them would hold a grudge against the other.


	83. Chapter 83

"Would you like an egg, Misako?" Zane asked as he slid an omelet on Lloyd's plate.

The older woman shook her head. "Just coffee, Zane. Thank you," she said.

Everyone sat around the table the next morning, preparing for another day of training. Today, Zane had decided to make breakfast, in honor of Misako's visit. He couldn't explain it, but lately he had the desire to prepare meals for his family. He felt cooking gave him a purpose - it put him at ease in a period of high tension in the household.

While he was preparing the coffee, Jay was telling everyone at the table about the dream he had the previous night.

"It happened, I swear! I really thought I was a pirate!" the blue ninja insisted, after relaying his REM sleep adventure.

Cole scoffed. "Get real, Jay, there are no such thing as pirates," he said. "The only reason pirates ever existed in Ninjago was because of the mega weapon."

"That's why it's a _dream, _Cole!" Jay retorted, rolling his eyes. "Though I did look pretty good with an eyepatch, if I do say so myself."

While they were busy discussing the topic of pirates, Sam watched the interaction between the two teammates with amusement. The rest of the ninja were quite used to the pointless arguments between the blue and the earth ninja, so they didn't pay much attention, but she couldn't help but crack a smile at the comedic debate.

From across the table, Kai studied the blonde. Like most days, her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was sporting her usual weekend attire - sweatpants and t-shirt - but to him, she looked lovely.

Unfortunately, in the midst of his daze, he forgot to be discreet about looking at her.

As Sam observed Jay and Cole, she noticed out the of the corner of her eye that Kai was staring at her oddly. Pretending not to see him, she turned her head slightly, as though she was glancing at Misako at the other end of the table, and she saw that, without question, he was watching her.

"Here is your coffee, Misako," Zane said, handing the grey-haired woman a mug of steaming hot coffee.

Misako flashed him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Zane," she answered, taking a sip.

It was a fairly relaxed morning for the ninja, she noticed. Besides Jay and Cole, everyone else seemed relatively quiet, which was different from the usual boisterous activity which the older woman typically associated with the ninja.

Lloyd was happily finishing up his omelet, while Nya was busy mediating the conversation between Jay and Cole. Next to her son, the archaeologist observed Sam watching the debate play out between the two brothers.

On the other side of Jay, Kai ate his eggs in silence. _He probably has a lot on his mind_, Misako thought.

She saw the red ninja sneak a few glances at her son's girlfriend, and concluded that there was no doubt he was thinking about her. She hated being an outsider to the situation, but there was nothing she could do to resolve the issue.

"You okay, Mom?" a voice broke through her thoughts.

She turned her head to see that Lloyd was watching her expectantly, awaiting an answer.

"I'm fine, Lloyd," she reassured him. "I was just spacing out, is all."

"It's one of those days, isn't it?" Nya piped up. "It's barely July, and I feel like this summer's been going on forever."

"Same here," Cole agreed. "It's only been a little over a week, and I feel like I haven't seen Brooke in ages."

"Why don't you just call her, again?" Lloyd stated matter-of-factly in between bites of his omelet.

"I guess I could…" he began. "I mean, I want to, but that'll be like the third time I've called her this week, and I don't wanna come off as desperate."

"Even if you are," Jay snickered under his breath, stifling his laughter.

Cole glared at his teammate. "I am not!" he retorted.

"Who is this Brooke girl?" Misako asked, breaking up the potential fight that was about to ensue.

The earth ninja opened his mouth to answer, but Jay beat him to it.

"She's this girl that Cole's practically obsessed with," he said. "And she's Sam's roommate," he added, motioning towards the blonde college student. Sam nodded in agreement.

"I see," Misako said, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. "So does that mean you have a 'girlfriend' as well, Cole?"

Cole rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, she's not my girlfriend yet-"

"But he hopes she will be!" Jay interrupted.

"Be quiet, Jay!" Cole admonished his teammate, though everyone could see that he was blushing.

"Don't worry, Cole," Sam piped up. "I am more than positive she's not going anywhere," she assured him.

From across the table, Kai observed her once more. It was nice to see her giving his brothers words of encouragement. It showed that she truly was a caring person, and he was beginning to think that maybe he had overreacted when he had believed she had been actively cheating on him with Lloyd behind his back. After giving her some space, he realized that she wouldn't do that to him. Obviously there had been a miscommunication between them, most likely on his end.

He didn't know what Lloyd's intentions had been, but as of now, he decided that even if Sam was going to continue dating Lloyd, he needed to mend the friendship between himself and the blonde girl.

If there was going to be any sense of normalcy in their household, he had to make things right with her. His sanity depended on it.

* * *

**This was a short little chappie for you all! I hope I've gotten you all excited for the end of the story! I imagine there will be at least 20 more chapters until we reach the end of the story. My goal is to hit 100 chapters! **

**Anyways...it appears Kai's thinking has changed, and now he wants to make it up to Sam! Do you guys think he'll do it? Will she forgive him? And, most importantly, how will Lloyd react? Don't forget to rate and review, and have a wonderful evening! :D**


	84. Chapter 84

"Man, that was a workout," Jay breathed as the ninja walked into the kitchen. "Is it just me, or is Sensei working us harder than usual?"

"It does appear that our exercises have become more strenuous," Zane agreed.

"Ugh, whatever the reason is, I'm starving," Cole said as he made a beeline for the fridge. "Speaking of food, does anyone know what we're having for dinner?"

"Ah, I'm sure Sam has _something_ good planned," the blue ninja said. "All of her food tastes good; it's practically comparable to Zane's."

Meanwhile, Kai was suddenly struck with an idea. What if he made dinner tonight? Since it was her night to cook, why would he not take the burden off of her? This was his opportunity to make things right with her, and with his family.

"Uh, actually, I'm making dinner," he piped up, causing his brothers to freeze.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute. You're cooking dinner?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since I decided I wanted to," the red ninja retorted, earning several curious looks.

"Ookay, I guess you can…" Cole said, opening the fridge. "But shouldn't you tell Sam?"

Kai shrugged. "Yeah, I'll tell her," he stated casually, as if his behavior was completely normal.

The rest of the ninja exchanged uncertain glances. While it would've been nice to think that he was doing someone a favor simply for the sake of being helpful, they knew their brother, and something was definitely up his sleeve.

"Yeah, Sensei, I promise I'll work on that," Lloyd called out to his teacher on the deck as he walked into the kitchen.

That's when he noticed his teammates were wearing interesting expressions.

"What up, guys?" he asked curiously.

Jay, Zane, and Cole stared at each other before the earth ninja took it upon himself to answer.

"Well, Lloyd, apparently Kai is making dinner tonight," he announced.

The green ninja let the words sink in before he tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, I thought it was Sam's turn to make dinner."

"It is," Kai said, stepping forward. "But I thought, hey, why not do something nice?"

Lloyd met the red ninja's gaze, clearly unimpressed by his brother's explanation.

"Wow. While that is very considerate of you, _Kai_," he said, narrowing his eyes, "it just doesn't sound like you. Since when do you cook?"

"Hey, I _know_ how to cook," the red ninja declared matter-of-factly. "We actually had to learn how to cook in Ignacia. When you were just a little runt, I made dinner a couple times."

Lloyd folded his arms at his teammate's use of the term 'runt'. "Is that so?"

"Yep, it was a school requirement," Kai said quickly, looking around. "First, I have to figure out what to make."

"Well, while you figure that out, I'm gonna go wash up," Cole said, snack in hand as he headed in the direction of the hallway. "Not to influence your opinion or anything, but I'm kinda leaning towards meatloaf tonight."

Jay rolled his eyes at the earth ninja's remark. "While I'd be curious to see Kai's _first_ _attempt_ at meatloaf," he began, leaning towards the red ninja. "I was wondering if you could make something _simpler_, like noodles or some sort of pasta."

Kai put his hands on his hips authoritatively. "I'll see what I can do, Jay, but I can't make any promises."

"Personally, I do not care what you make, Kai," Zane interjected, "as long as it's edible. My stomach has a hard time processing Cole's cooking sometimes, especially his chili," he added.

However, out of all the ninja, Lloyd appeared the most skeptical of Kai's ability to prepare the evening's meal on his own.

"Well, good luck with your cooking thing," Lloyd said sharply as he headed in the direction of the hallway as well. He didn't know why, but the thought of Kai doing a supposed favor for Sam didn't set well with him.

Something was definitely up, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

Sam, Nya, and Misako arrived back at the Bounty around 5pm, returning from a long 'girls only' outing. Since it was Sunday, Sam had not gone to work and had been able to participate in the outing. However, she knew she had to get home in time to make dinner.

However, when the girls walked through the front door, they were immediately hit by an enticing aroma.

"I think I smell something cooking," Nya said, sniffing the air. "And it smells kinda familiar."

The three walked into the kitchen, and were greeted by none other than Kai standing behind the counter, preparing some sort of food.

"Hey, guys," the red ninja said, glancing up to see the girls had returned.

Sam and Nya blinked in surprise open noticing the stove was on, in addition to the various ingredients that were strewn across the kitchen area. Kai was making dinner.

"Hey, Kai…whatcha makin' there?" The samurai asked curiously, trying to peer over the countertop.

"Nikujaga," he answered simply, busily chopping onions on a cutting board. "It's sliced meat with potatoes and onions, topped with soy sauce. I don't know if you remember, but we used to have it for dinner sometimes when we were little."

"I thought it smelled familiar," Nya said. "So, you decided to make dinner?" she asked, glancing at Sam, who still wore a look of surprise.

The red ninja nodded. "Yeah, I guess I just wanted to," he said. His gaze rested on the blonde. "I know it was your turn to make dinner, Sam, so I'm sorry if you already had something planned for dinner."

In a daze, Sam shook her head. "No, it's fine. I actually wasn't sure what I was going to make, so I guess it worked out then."

"I'm glad to hear that," he nodded, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Misako observed the red ninja with interest. "It's very nice of you to make dinner," she said, giving him an appreciative smile.

Kai waved her compliment aside. "It's my pleasure," he said. "Just wanted to do something nice for my family." His eyes remained on Sam, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you need any help?" Nya asked, oblivious to the silent exchange between her brother and their houseguest.

"Thanks, Nya, but I think I got this," he said. "It's not too hard to make, so I'll let you guys relax after your long day."

"Says you," Misako chuckled. "You boys are always working so hard with your training and all."

"Ha, it's no problem, really," he answered. "Most of the time we just eat and play videogames."

"He's not lying," Nya teased, giving Misako a wink.

"I think I'm gonna go freshen up," Sam said, walking towards the hallway. Truth was, she needed some time to herself. Once again, Kai's behavior was throwing her off.

"I think I might as well," Misako agreed, trailing behind her. "It's easy to feel unclean in those crowded malls." Being of an older generation, she was not used to the mass consumerism happening in Ninjago City.

Once the two women were out of sight, Nya turned to her brother.

"Are you sure there's no other reason you're making dinner?" she asked, raising an eyebrow knowingly.

Kai shook his head. "Nope, just being nice."

The samurai, put a hand on her hips, but did not argue. She knew her brother better than that. He was up to something, something indeed.

* * *

"Welp, everything looks good, Kai," Cole said, eyeing the steaming pot of meat and potatoes.

"It should," the red ninja said as he set the pot down in the center of the table. "I promise you won't be disappointed."

"Hey, why is it always such a big deal when Kai cooks?" Jay joked. "I think my katsudon is nothing to sneeze at."

"Then it looks like you may have some competition," Zane teased, studying his brother's dish. "It certainly does appear to be quite appetizing."

"Yeah, how come you never made this before, Kai?" Cole inquired.

The red ninja shrugged. "I guess I always associated it with my past, so I never thought of it," he answered, his eyes darkening at the thought of his parents. "But it was something I wanted to share with you guys, since, whether I like it or not, it's a part of who I am."

"Wow, that's deep, Kai," Jay whistled. "Now, could someone please pass me the ketchup? I like it with my potatoes."

"That is the grossest thing I ever heard, Jay," Lloyd remarked from the other side of the table.

The blue ninja waved his arms in defense. "What? A lot of people do it!"

"Nope, just you," Cole snickered, earning a glare from his teammate.

From there, Kai proceeded to dish the entrée onto everyone's plate. Everyone, especially Cole, could feel their mouth watering in anticipation of being served.

"This is such a surprise," Sensei remarked, as he waited for his pupil to dish the entrée on his plate. He was shocked, to say the least, that Kai would voluntarily do the cooking all by himself.

"Well, I'm full of surprises," the red ninja joked, serving his teacher.

After everyone was served, Kai himself sat down in his usual spot on the end of the bench, next to Jay.

"Mmm, this is good," Cole said, who had already taken his first bite and was currently chewing.

"It is," Nya agreed. "This brings back memories."

Kai smiled, happy that his family was enjoying what he had made. He glanced across the table and saw, to his delight, Sam was eating the dish as well.

However, this time, Lloyd caught his brother peering at his girlfriend and frowned. He wouldn't put it past Kai to pull a stunt like this to win Sam's heart back, just to spite him.

"It is very good, Kai," the blonde remarked, taking another forkful of potatoes.

The smile on Kai's face grew even wider, knowing that she liked what he had made. Just to hear her express her appreciation was what made the whole process worth it.

However, the large smile he was sporting quickly disappeared when he caught the gaze of the green ninja, who was currently sitting next to her. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw Lloyd eyeing him strangely.

Kai figured that the green ninja was probably annoyed at him for receiving a compliment from her. Ordinarily the red ninja might have been slightly irritated at this, but at this point, however, it didn't really bother him. Right now, he was just glad that he had made Sam happy.


	85. Chapter 85

"Now, make sure your posture is straight: elbows are parallel, and your shoulders aren't hunched," Lloyd instructed from a few feet away, as he and Sam stood in the training room.

The following afternoon, after Sam came home from work, he and the blonde had agreed to having another training session. It had been his idea, actually, for a couple of reasons. One reason being that Sam was so close to learning Spinjitzu, and he wanted to brag about her success story to the others. The second reason, the less prominent of the two, he wanted an excuse to spend time with her, away from the prying eyes of the other ninja, one in particular. After last night's dinner, he had the desire to be alone with her, more so than usual.

"Got it," Sam nodded, after assessing her posture.

Lloyd studied her carefully. "Hmm, feet are shoulder-width apart. Head is forward," he observed, going through his mental checklist. Thanks to Kai barging in on their session the other day, he was much more thorough in his inspection.

After a few seconds of last minute checking, Lloyd finally nodded in approval. "Alright, now try spinning. Remember to start slowly, then gradually build up your speed."

Sam nodded, taking one last look at her posture before she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself to spin. In one quick movement, she twirled around, building up speed.

"Great! Don't lose your stance," the green ninja reminded her. "Keep your back straight, and focus."

Slowly, Sam began to feel a force surround her, enclosing her in an invisible wall that separated her from the rest of the room. Her eyes widened in surprise as it dawned on her that, for the first time, she was going to do Spinjitzu. She could feel the wind tugging on her ponytail, growing stronger, as the space around her began to transform into a yellowish hue.

"Sam, you're doing it!"

Lloyd's voice sounded distant, muffled by the rush of wind in her ears. But his words were no less wonderful to hear.

Unfortunately, almost as quickly as it had registered that she was actually carrying out the sacred martial art, she lost her balance. The wind became too strong for her to hold her own, and basically was swept into her own tornado as she landed in a heap on the ground.

Lloyd immediately rushed over to her, seeing her sitting on the ground, startled by the sudden fall.

"You okay?" he asked, extending a hand to help her up.

The blonde took a moment to recover before answering. "Yeah," she said, grabbing ahold of Lloyd's hand as he helped pull her to her feet.

"Wow, you're really getting there, Sam," he remarked.

"I know," she breathed in amazement. "The falling part I need to work on, though."

Lloyd chuckled. "It's okay, it happens. You just have to learn to work with your energy, not against it."

Sam sighed. "Yeah, I have trouble with balancing. It was kinda my weakness in tennis."

"Hey, everyone has something they need to work on," Lloyd said. "What you achieved so far is great. You should be proud."

"Thanks," Sam said, flashing him a grateful smile. However, her smile slowly disappeared as she remembered why she had tried to learn Spinjitzu in the first place. "It's too bad Kai can't appreciate how much progress I made."

A pang of guilt shot through Lloyd's chest as he remembered why he had started teaching her Spinjitzu. He had originally planned to teach Sam so she could express her affection for Kai, but now the two ninja were kind of on the outs, at least in his mind.

The thoughts traveled to last night's dinner, and the feeling of guilt he had moments ago quickly disappeared, remembering how the red ninja was eyeing Sam after he made them dinner. "Just to be nice," Kai had said.

"Hey, didn't you think it was weird Kai made dinner last night?" he asked. Out of curiosity, he wanted Sam's opinion.

She frowned. "Yeah, it was kind of strange..." she agreed. "Unexpected, I guess. And it was all of a sudden."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought," he said. "I figure maybe he's trying to win you back, just to get back at me for being with you."

Her heart unintentionally skipped a beat. "You think so?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise at the thought. She was careful not to sound too shocked. It didn't affect her, after all.

"I mean, why else would he do those things?" the green ninja asked. "I mean, it was kind of ironic that he decided to do it the same day you were going to. And it's not just that. He's been acting different lately."

Sam thought back on the last few days,and unfortunately, she had to agree."Yeah, I noticed that," she said. "I thought it was just me, but I guess everyone else has been noticing too."

"Well, they haven't said anything exactly," Lloyd said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "But I can tell. I mean, Jay acted kind of weird today during training."

Sam's ears perked up at the mention of the red ninja's close friend. "He did?"

"Yeah, he was quieter than usual, and I don't know if you've noticed this, but he is never quiet," Lloyd replied. "And not only that, he kept giving me weird looks."

"That does sound weird," Sam said, frowning. She didn't know what would cause Jay to behave like that.

Lloyd shrugged. "I don't know, it's anyone's guess really," he said. "Maybe it's just me. I mean, he is Jay, and he does some pretty weird things."

"Yeah, that is true," Sam answered, but was too absorbed in her thoughts to find the humor in her statement, or their discussion in general over the extroverted blue ninja.

If it were Zane or Cole that acted strangely, she might've dismissed Lloyd's story, thinking that they might have simply been distracted like any ordinary person. But if Jay was noticeably quiet, it normally meant there was something on his mind. She couldn't even begin to guess what it was, but if it had to do with Kai, then she couldn't ignore the possibility that she was involved. Even on the off-chance that she was indeed involved, it shouldn't be important to her. Kai had proven he didn't like her as much as it seemed that he had, considering he had been going behind her back with Skylor. And now that Skylor was out of the picture, it was only natural that he would want to get back together with her. Sam was the second option, the "backup" girl.

But, like any girl, Sam wanted to be loved unconditionally, loved because she was the only girl that a young man specifically chose to love. And Lloyd was that young man. The green ninja wanted to go out with her, simply because he liked her.

Kai had had his chance. She knew that. So why did it bother her that Jay was acting oddly? There were endless possibilities as to why Jay would be quiet, one being simple fatigue. But on the chance that it was because of Kai, why did she want to know? Maybe because she was simply a caring person who was interested in the red ninja's well being? Could be.

Deep down, she kind of doubted it. Truth was, maybe she cared more about Kai than she was willing to admit.


	86. Chapter 86

**Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I last updated, but I managed to write a quickie for you all! I've just been really busy with school and everything, so I don't know how often I will actually be able to update, but I am determined to finish this story, sooner or later, so don't worry! I'm anxious for the ending as well, haha. ;) Anyways, hope school and everything is going well for you guys, and I will talk to y'all later! Enjoy!**

Jay was trying to keep his mouth shut.

Now that he and Nya knew that Kai still had true feelings for Sam, the blue ninja tried to avoid the blonde college student at all cost.

During training yesterday, he had had difficulty concentrating, knowing that the problem still hadn't been resolved. It was hard for him to watch his best friend fall for the girl who had stolen his affections in the first place, and now was with someone else as a result of his own mistake.

He didn't doubt that Sam and Lloyd had genuine feelings for each other to an extent, but he could not convince himself that they belonged together, based on the information he already knew.

Therefore, he couldn't help but observe Lloyd when he was around, wondering exactly what was running through the green ninja's mind.

Lloyd surely couldn't have been comfortable knowing that he was Sam's rebound, or maybe he didn't think of it that way at all.

Jay was sure his green-clad teammate didn't know Kai still harbored feelings for Sam. Although, the fact that Kai had volunteered to make dinner last night when it was Sam's turn to cook should have been a huge indicator.

But even at dinner, Lloyd hadn't said anything; he just continued to eat his meal and act like everything was normal. Jay supposed that if it was ever revealed to him, Lloyd would not take it lightly that Kai was trying to gain Sam's trust again.

Dinner had been a success, more or less, as Kai had gained approval from the blonde. There was no doubt the red ninja was going to try to win her affection again by doing another sort of favor. He just hoped that he wouldn't do something too crazy.

While in the midst of his thoughts, Jay heard the front door open, followed by a pair of footsteps entering the Bounty. He turned to see Sam walk into the living area, no doubt home after her long day at work.

"Hey, Sam," Jay said, shifting uncomfortably as she headed to the kitchen.

The blonde flashed him a friendly smile. "Hey, Jay," she answered. "What's up?"

"Eh, nothing much," he replied. "Just waiting for the guys to finish washing up. Sensei's been really hard on us the past couple of days."

"Really?" she asked.

Jay nodded. "Yeah, it's like he's _expecting_ a villain to pop out at any moment. Either way, it's exhausting."

"That does sound tiring," Sam said, her blue eyes shining with sympathy. "If it's any consolation, I'm going to make dinner tonight, so let me know what you guys would like."

The blue ninja frowned. "I thought it was your turn to make dinner last night. Don't tell me Sensei's making _you_ work overtime too?"

Sam shook her head, chuckling at her friend's comment. "No, no. I spoke with Zane earlier this morning and he said it would be alright if I made dinner," she explained. "I know you guys have been working hard, so I thought I'd take the burden off of him tonight."

"Wow, that's really nice of you," Jay remarked, impressed. "It's a good thing Kai made dinner last night, otherwise, you'd be cooking _two_ big meals in a row!"

The mention of Kai made Sam remember the conversation she had had with Lloyd yesterday during her Spinjitzu training.

"Hey, Jay," she said, her features turning more serious, "Don't you think Kai has been acting different lately?"

Jay's eyes widened, her question immediately taking him by surprise. "Uh, nope, I haven't noticed," he answered quickly, struggling to maintain a calm composure.

Sam's brow rose curiously. His response wasn't convincing but she decided that she wasn't going to press the matter farther, seeing it was making him uncomfortable.

"Oh, okay. Just asking," she said, shrugging it off.

A moment of silence passed before the blue ninja spoke.

"So…" Jay began, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "What were you planning to make?"

"Don't know," Sam answered, sighing. "I was hoping you guys had some ideas."

"Well…" he thought, "I was kinda in the mood for pasta yesterday, though Kai rejected that idea, obviously," he said, playfully rolling his eyes. "You could make that."

Sam took a moment to consider his suggestion before her blue eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Yeah, I could do that," she said.

"Awesome!" Jay grinned. "Want some help?"

Now that the awkward subject of Kai was out of the way, he didn't think the topic would be brought up again if he spent more time with her.

"Sure, Jay," Sam said, giving him an appreciative smile. "Though first, I think I'm gonna go get changed." While she liked her work clothes, they weren't exactly the most comfortable, especially when she was just hanging out at home. "Do you wanna start boiling the pasta?"

"Sure thing," the blue ninja answered as he made his way into the kitchen.

"It'll just take me a sec," she promised.

After the young woman disappeared into the hall, he breathed a sigh of relief.

If Kai was going to act on his feelings for Sam, Jay thought he'd better do it soon. Like everyone else, he knew he wasn't good at keeping secrets forever.


	87. Chapter 87

"Voila! Dinner is served!" Jay announced as he set down a pot of piping-hot spaghetti on the table.

The rest of the ninja rolled their eyes at their teammate's typical theatrics.

"Well, looks like you finally got your pasta, Jay," Cole remarked, studying the evening's entrée with great interest.

"Yes, I did!" the blue ninja declared proudly. "But Sam did most of the work, so I gotta give her some credit."

The college student couldn't help but crack a smile at the hyperactive ninja's antics.

"Oh, stop it, Jay, you're the one who came up with the idea," she said, waving his compliment aside. "That's half the battle, you know."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It was teamwork."

Meanwhile, Cole's stomach was growling as he eyed the spaghetti. Because of his Italian heritage, he could never pass up a good bowl of pasta. "Are we gonna sit here and argue about who made the food, or are we just gonna dig in and eat?" he asked.

The other ninja paused and glanced at each other, all thinking the same thing.

"Eat," they echoed as everyone reached for the steaming pot of spaghetti.

Misako and Wu exchanged amused looks, watching the young students devour their meal.

"Take it easy, ninja," Sensei reminded them, though a twinkle remained in his eye. "Leave some for us old people."

Jay and Sam sat down to join the hungry group at the table. The blue ninja happily took his seat in between Kai and Nya, while Sam sat in her usual spot next to Lloyd.

"This is good, Sam," the green ninja mumbled with a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth.

Sam smiled. "Thanks," she replied, humbly accepting the compliment. "It was pretty easy to make, but I appreciate the extra help."

She motioned towards the blue ninja, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, Lloyd eyed his blue teammate warily from across the table, his gaze flickering between him and Kai. Maybe he was being paranoid, but he wouldn't be surprised if those two were conjuring up some sort of scheme to lure Sam away from him. Jay had been awfully quiet the past couple of days, which was, to put it lightly, unusual. And he also knew that Jay and Kai were close, closer than the other ninja, so the only explanation he could come up with was that he and Kai knew something the others didn't.

"Speaking of help," Nya began, turning to her brother, "It was nice of you to help Jay and I organize the tools we bought on Saturday."

Kai met his sister's gaze and gave her a small smile.

"Just trying to help out my lil' sis'," he answered.

Lloyd raised a brow curiously at his teammate's response. Why was Kai so eager to be helpful all of a sudden? More importantly, why was everyone treating it like it was completely normal? Was Nya in on Jay and Kai's charades too?

"Man, I wish I had a sibling," the blue ninja remarked, grinning at the brother and sister duo. "Though I guess _dating_ someone's sibling is a step up! Am I right, eh?" he added, gently nudging the samurai in a playful manner.

"Hey, don't push your luck," the red ninja teased, giving him a half-hearted glare.

"It is true that siblings who are close tend to be the best companions in life," Zane observed, wanting to participate in the conversation. "Therefore, I would be curious to see what having a sibling is like myself."

At the end of the table, the earth ninja snorted.

"I wouldn't, 'cause then I'd have to share all my stuff with them," Cole interjected. "And no one likes to share, including me."

"Aw, Cole, don't be such a sour pus!" Jay chuckled. "You share with us, so why would having a sibling be any different?"

Cole pondered his teammate's comment before answering. "True," he said, nodding. "But no one, and I mean no one, shares my cake."

"Don't worry, Cole, I'd never dream of it," Kai snickered, holding back his laughter.

Despite the lighthearted topic of conversation, Sensei found the opportunity to impart some wisdom on his students.

"Siblings do have their fair share of arguments, that is for sure," the older man agreed, reminded of his brother. "But blood or not, a brother or sister is someone you can rely on to carry you through the darkest of times, even if their physical presence ceases to remain."

"That is true," Misako added. "A brother is someone you should hold on tightly to, for they will always be there when you need them most."

The ninja and the girls listened intently, letting their elders' words sink in. From across the table, Kai caught Lloyd's gaze, who quickly looked away to focus on his mother and his uncle, processing their shred of wisdom.

"Reminds me of the good ol' times when we were just starting out as ninja," Cole said. "When the biggest thing we had to worry about was taking down a few snakes, and chasing the little runt around."

Everyone's attention turned to Lloyd, who grimaced at the memory of being the obnoxious, misunderstood little kid that mindlessly released the evil snake tribes onto Ninjago.

"Yeah, I guess I did cause a few problems back then," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "But I didn't know any other way, until I met you guys."

"Not only that, you did the world a favor by defeating the Overlord...the first time," Jay added, earning a few chuckles from around the table. "None of us thought we would get out of that alive, but you did it."

"That day is still quite vivid in my memory," Zane remarked. "If I remember correctly, it was Kai who last sacrificed himself to save you."

Eight pairs of eyes fell on the red ninja, who shrugged. "Well, I knew that it was the green ninja who was destined to defeat the Dark Lord. Who was I to mess with that?"

Lloyd met his gaze once more, except this time, the younger ninja did not look away.

Of course, he was thankful for all of the support his older teammate had given him over the years. But, at the same time, Kai had been hesitant about his decisions to assist him, starting from the time in the volcano, when it took him a full two minutes to choose between the dumb fang blade and him, a living person, no less a child. He guessed that part of his reluctance stemmed from the fact that Kai had always wanted to be the green ninja. Even now, he could still sense his brother's jealousy bubbling underneath the surface. Who's to say Kai wouldn't suddenly turn on him, especially after the staff incident on Chen's Island?

Sensei noticed the silent exchange between his two students, but did not comment.

"You all did your part, upon saving the world," he said, observing his pupils. "And no doubt evil will present itself again. But when the time comes, your brotherhood will be your greatest asset. Maintain it, and treasure it."

"Yes, Sensei," the ninja echoed, although Lloyd's eyes remained on Kai.

The red ninja slowly peeled his eyes away from his teammate, and that's when he noticed Sam was twirling her spaghetti in silence. He wasn't exactly sure what she was thinking about, but nonetheless, he wanted to make a connection with her. She must've been feeling kind of awkward with all this talk of their adventures and saving the world, stuff she couldn't really relate to.

"By the way, Sam, this pasta is great."

He heard the words leave his mouth, only to be greeted by seven other pairs of eyes fall on him.

Sam lifted her head to see Kai smiling at her, and instinctively a warmth spread throughout her chest.

"It's even better than Mama Li's," he added, giving her a wink. It wasn't a flirtatious wink, but a friendly wink.

Several surprised expressions were exchanged across the table, but the red ninja didn't care.

"Thanks," she answered, flashing him a grateful smile. Sure, Kai had hurt her, but obviously he was making an effort to try and rebuild bridges. He didn't know why he was being so talkative with her all of a sudden, but maybe enough time had passed that he was ready to put everything behind him and reconcile with his family.

If he proved to her that he could meet her halfway, she guessed that she was willing to mend their friendship. Maybe they could be friends again. The only way to know was to try.


	88. Chapter 88

**Hey all! I know I haven't posted a chapter in a while; I've been busy with school and everything, so I hope you can forgive me! I can't believe I have 88 chapters of this story! I started writing this almost a year and a half ago, and now it is almost DONE! :D My goal is to get at least 100 chapters. I know I'll get there, eventually. ;) So, where we left of, Jay and Nya both know that Kai still harbors feelings for Sam and now he's going to try to make things right, which, of course, may cause some problems (when hasn't something Kai has done cause a problem in this story?), but we all know it'll turn out alright in the end. Anyways, enjoy the long chapter!**

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The next morning, Kai wandered into the kitchen, in search of some breakfast before the long day of training.

Though he had been the first one to rise this fine morning, the red ninja had stayed up late last night, running over and over in his mind what he was going to say to Sam to tell her he still had feelings for her. And yet, he still couldn't come up with anything decent to say, without coming off as completely desperate.

He wanted so badly to just be close to her as he had been when she and Lloyd had been training and he had corrected her posture. Just to hold her hand, and make her smile as he had done, before he had ruined it with her.

But unless he could was he could form and acceptable apology, he could even forget about just being friends again.

In the midst of his thoughts, he did not hear Sam walk into the kitchen, herself planning to make an early breakfast.

"Kai?" a soft, feminine voice said from behind him, causing him to whirl around abruptly.

"Uh, hey, Sam," he stammered, his heart leaping in his chest at the sight of the blonde-haired beauty.

Immediately, Sam noticed there was something off about his behavior, but decided to ignore it for the sake of being friendly.

"Hey," she answered, giving him a small smile. Her blue eyes held the same twinkle they had had the very first day at the grocery store. "You're up early."

It took a moment for the red ninja to process her remark. "Eh, just thought I'd get a head start," he replied casually.

Again, she detected that maybe there was more to the story than he was letting on, but decided that it was better not to press any further questions. They were already getting along, so why make waves where it was unnecessary?

For a fraction of a second, her eyebrow twitched curiously at him before she walked to the pantry to retrieve a box of cereal.

"Did you rest well?" he blurted out, desperate to say something before his window of opportunity closed to start a conversation.

"Uh, yeah, I did actually," she said, rummaging through the pantry. She was a bit caught off-guard by his question, but was secretly glad that her back was facing him, so that he hadn't been able her surprised expression.

Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly."That's good," he answered, not knowing what else to say.

Little did he know, Sam was trying to appear normal as she went about her business, gathering a bowl, a spoon and the box of cereal she had chosen and setting them on the table. Kai's presence was making her a tad uncomfortable, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was about his behavior that was making her self-conscious.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked as he watched her sit down at the table.

Sam glanced up at him and smiled. "Sure! The more the merrier!"

Kai frowned upon hearing the familiar phrase coming out of her mouth: another reminder that she was still with Lloyd, but eventually took the seat across from her, careful not to invade her personal space.

Sam started to pour the cereal into her bowl, when she looked up at him."Do you want some of this?" she asked, motioning towards the box.

Kai shrugged. "Nah, I'm not that hungry right now," he replied, shaking his head. "I'll let you have first dibs."

Sam nodded, flashing him a small smile before she started to munch on her bowl of Frosted Oats.

For a couple minutes, the two sat in silence, with Sam eating her cereal and Kai looking around the room, trying to preoccupy his racing mind.

"How did you rest?" Sam asked, breaking the silence between them.

"It was alright. Could've been better, though," he admitted. Though he wasn't about to tell her that she has been the reason for his restless night.

Sam nodded, giving him a sympathetic smile. "I hate when I have those kind of nights," she said. "Sometimes I can't sleep for no reason and it drives me crazy. Usually it's because I have something on my mind that's constantly bugging me."

Kai gave her a sheepish look. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said.

A part of him wondered why she was so talkative with him this morning. Up until now, they had acknowledged each other's presence, but he could not recall the last time they had carried a conversation as long as this one. Did that mean she had finally forgiven him? Was it out of pure pity? Or, even more hopeful, was it that she was still harboring some feelings for him?

He swallowed nervously, silently debating whether or not to bring up the touchy subject of their relationship. At least he could apologize. Maybe that would help to clear the air a bit.

"Listen, Sam," he said, clearing his throat. "I wanted to apologize for the last couple of weeks."

Sam lifted her head from her bowl of cereal, and instantly met a pair of chocolate brown eyes, warm and sincere.

"I know that things have been rough lately, mainly because of me," he continued, chuckling nervously at the last part. "But can we just...you know, try to be friends?"

For a good minute or so, the whole world seemed to stop.

Sam studied Kai, her blue gaze full of question as she processed what the red ninja had said. She certainly hadn't been expecting that, especially when eating a bowl of Frosted Oats for breakfast, going about business as usual.

Kai held his breath as he analyzed her reaction. She didn't look disgusted, but she didn't look too happy either. Her face was nothing short of shocked.

Finally, Sam realized that she had her spoon still in midair, preparing to take another bite of cereal.

"Kai…" she began, averting her eyes away from him as she set her spoon down. Her voice sounded pained. "I care about you, but it hurt to see you with Skylor."

She was being honest. It wasn't the fact that he had liked another girl before he had met her, and even that he liked her while they were dating that had hurt her the most. It was the fact that he had brought the girl home with him, to show her off in front of her. That had been just plain cruel and insensitive. And Sam knew that she didn't need those kind of people in her life.

But she also believed in second chances. That being said, she had already recognized the fact that she was willing to mend their friendship, so what was stopping her from accepting his proposal?

"But I realize that is behind us now," she continued. "So, yes, I would like to be friends again."

"Really?" Kai breathed, in a mixture of amazement and relief.

Sam nodded, a smile dancing across her lips. "Really."

As soon as he could process what she had just said, Kai's face broke out into a large grin.

"Wow, that's great. Really great," he said, his brown eyes twinkling with newfound excitement.

While he was mentally celebrating his renewed alliance with Sam, a thought occurred to him. He didn't want to push his luck, but he was just so eager to get things back on track.

"Hey, Sam," he asked, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "By any chance, do you wanna do something later, as friends?"

He bit his lip nervously, thinking that he may have overstepped his boundaries. However, all his doubts melted away when he saw Sam smile, an even bigger smile than before.

"Sure, I'd like that," she answered. "What did you have in mind?"

Kai opened his mouth to answer, when they both heard the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen.

The other ninja had awakened earlier, and, going about their usual routine, they had gotten dressed in their ninja attire, and had headed to the kitchen in search of some sustenance before training started, only to find Kai and Sam at the table, alone.

"Found him," a husky-sounding voice said, no doubt belonging to Cole.

Kai and Sam turned to see the rest of the team walk into the room.

"Hey, look, it's Kai! And Sam!" Jay exclaimed, seeing his friends already sitting at the table. "You're up mighty early!"

"Indeed," Zane agreed, observing the former couple. "And what may have caused you to arise earlier than usual?"

Kai met the gazes of his teammates, who were all watching him curiously.

"Eh, just couldn't fall back asleep," he replied, shrugging.

Jay's eyes shifted between his brother and the blonde, but did not provide any more comment.

"Hey, does anyone know where my belt is?" a tenor voice echoed from the hallway.

Seconds later, Lloyd also emerged, followed by Misako. Like the others, he was wearing his ninja suit, except he appeared to be holding it together.

Cole shook his head. "Haven't seen it," he said. "Try checking the hamper. I always lose my belt in there."

"Okay," Lloyd answered. He was about to turn back and go look for the belt in their bedroom when the sight of Kai and Sam sitting at the table together.

"Wondered where you went," he muttered, frowning. Giving them one last glance, the green ninja disappeared back into the hall.

Misako watched her son leave, sensing the sudden change in attitude.

She studied the young people in the kitchen, and noticed that Kai and Sam were already seated at the table. It was then that she put two-and-two together that Kai and Sam must have already been together by themselves before the rest of them, which was likely the cause of her son's disapproval.

"Up early?" she asked.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep," Kai answered, giving the older woman a friendly look.

Misako smiled. "I see," she said. "Wu swears by chamomile tea. He says that it'll knock you out like a light. That's why he always has some before he goes to bed."

"Ah, maybe I should try it then," Kai joked, trying to hold the conversation. "It sure would do me some good."

Misako chuckled. "It might," she said. "Just don't drink too much of it, or you might sleep the entire day away."

"Would you like some coffee, Misako?" Zane asked politely from across the kitchen, as he began to pour hot water into the coffee pot.

"I would love that, Zane, thank you," she answered.

Unexpectedly, she took a seat next to Sam.

"And how are you?" she asked.

"Good, thank you," Sam nodded politely. Being a prospect daughter-in-law, she could understand why Misako might be taking an interest in her.

"That's good," Misako said, her green eyes twinkling. "How is your internship going?"

"Very good," Sam replied. "Mr. Borg is very pleased with all of the progress we have made this summer. He says he considers us the next innovative minds at the company."

"That sounds like a good sign," Misako answered. "Is that would you'd like to do in the future?"

Sam nodded once more. "I really want to take over for Mr. Borg one day," she said. "I've wanted to work for his company since I was like twelve years old."

"Well, I would say you are on the right path," the older woman chuckled. "Just stay focused, and everything will fall into place as it should."

"Hey, I thought Sensei was the one who imparted wisdom on us," Jay joked as he took a seat at the table, along with Cole and Zane.

"Just because I'm not a sensei doesn't mean I can't give advice," Misako chuckled. "I am old too, you know."

"Really, you don't look a day over thirty," Cole teased, reaching for the box of Frosted Oats.

"That's very nice of you, Cole," the older woman said. "Though I can tell when you're lying."

Small bursts of laughter erupted from the table, but were silenced by the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" Lloyd asked as he returned from his bedroom, belt in hand.

"Shh! We can't talk about him anymore!" Jay teased, resulting in more laughter from around the table.

Lloyd put his hands on his hips authoritatively, clearly unamused by his teammate's antics. "Haha, very funny, Jay," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"They were just teasing about my old age, Lloyd," Misako said, consoling her son. "Nothing about you."

Seeing that his mother was seated next to Sam, Lloyd took a seat on the other side of her, his face still slightly grouchy.

"And how are you today?" Misako asked, turning to her son.

Lloyd sighed. "Alright," he said. "Just a little tired."

Misako nodded. "As we all are. I'm not surprised though-all you young people seem to stay up pretty late."

"Does Lloyd need a bedtime?" Cole whispered loudly in Jay's ear, trying to be overheard.

Lloyd shot the earth ninja a dirty look before reaching for the box of Frosted Oats setting on the table.

While everyone was eating and (Misako drinking her coffee), Sensei appeared.

"Good morning, everyone," the older man said, walking into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Sensei," the young adults echoed, while Misako smiled at her brother-in-law.

"'Morning, Wu," she said, acknowledging his presence.

"Good morning, Misako," Sensei answered, returning the gesture. He then turned to his pupils. "I'm assuming Nya is still asleep," he said, noticing the female samurai's absence.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, she was still asleep when I woke up."

"Yeah, she was up late last night working on the computer again," Jay piped up. "That puppy requires a lot of maintenance."

"Why don't you just build a new one?" Cole asked, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "In fact, why don't you just rebuild the entire control room?"

Jay stroked his chin thoughtfully, entertaining the idea. "Hm, it would take a while, but with your guys' help, we could probably do it."

Everyone let Jay's words sink in before nodding, intrigued at the possibility.

"Well, count me out of that," Cole said, waving his hand in dismissal. "I'm useless with that computer stuff. I'm sure Kai would agree with me."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, me and technology don't exactly get along the greatest," he said, recalling when they fought the Overlord for the second time.

Jay waved his brothers' comments aside. "That's okay. You and Kai can just hand us the tools then," he teased.

Sensei watched everyone munching happily on their cereal, grateful that his pupils seemed to be getting along for once. His eyes rested on his Lloyd, whose expression was stoic. He sensed his nephew had something on his mind, but was not going to confront him about it in front of everyone else.

"Alright, well, I should probably get ready to go," Sam said, standing up from her seat at the table.

"Have a good day, Sam!" Jay said. "Don't run into any nindroids trying to take over the world."

"I'll try not to," she laughed, putting her dishes in the sink.

As she passed by Lloyd, the green ninja gave her a small smile. "Have a good day, Sam."

"Thanks, Lloyd," the blonde said, gazing into his green irises, which shone with the utmost sincerity.

She turned to head back to her room to gather up her stuff when she heard Kai's voice from behind her.

"And Sam?"

She spun around to see that Kai was watching her.

"Just think about it, okay?" he said, earning several confused looks from his teammates.

Knowing what he was referring to, Sam nodded, flashing him a small smile. "I will."

At that, she turned and disappeared into the hall, heading to her and Nya's shared room to get ready for her , the others were trying to decipher the cryptic question Kai had asked her.

"Think about what?" Jay asked innocently, breaking the silence that had lingered after Sam had left.

"I asked Sam if she wanted to do something with me later," Kai answered, causing everyone's ears to perk up, including Lloyd's.

"Whoa, wait a second, what happened?" Cole asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Before breakfast I asked Sam if she wanted to do something with me later," Kai responded matter-of-factly. "And she said yes, except we don't know what we're going to do yet."

That answer still hadn't appeared to satisfy everyone else's curiosity, since his teammates continued to eye him strangely.

"Just as friends," he added, becoming increasingly uneasy with the looks he was receiving. "Why, can't a friend hang out with another friend?"

"Because you weren't 'just friends' before…?" Cole said, earning a glare from the red ninja.

"Hey, if Kai wants to hang out with Sam as friends, then he should," Jay stated firmly, supporting his best friend. Secretly, he was entirely on board with Kai spending time with Sam again, hoping it would lead to something greater. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you hanging out with Nya."

"Okay, that is totally different," Cole retorted. "We've all known Nya for an equal amount of time, and I didn't have a previous girlfriend that I was gaga over while I was dating her."

"Enough," Sensei said, causing Jay and Cole to freeze. "It'll be up to Sam to decide how she wants to conduct her friendship with Kai. We all have our own opinions, but her actions will ultimately be her choices to make."

Kai and Zane nodded, satisfied with their teacher's answer, while Jay and Cole folded their arms, silently glowering at each other. From across the table, Lloyd stared down at his lap, pondering his uncle's words. If he was being honest with himself, he was growing increasingly apprehensive about his relationship with Sam. Kai's paying attention to her seemed to be reciprocated, much more so than if she didn't harbor any feelings for him at all.

Misako noticed her son's glum expression next to her, now understanding why he had been in an irritable state before breakfast. She knew deep down, he knew Sam's heart still belonged to Kai. And while it would've been nice for Lloyd and Sam to develop a relationship, she could sense the bond between her and Kai was stronger, a connection on a deeper level that could only have been contrived by fate, a force out of her son's control. She just hoped that Lloyd would understand and not try to hold onto what wasn't there, knowing that would hurt him more in the end.

Just like he had been when he had found out he was the green ninja, and it was prophesied that he would defeat his father, the same rule applied: You can't control destiny.

In this case, she could only hope that Lloyd would learn this lesson, even if he had to learn it the hard way.


	89. Chapter 89

**Hey everyone! Hope you all are still enjoying the story! I'm imagining it'll take me at least 11 more chapters to finish up the story, so I still plan to get up to at least 100 chapters. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your guys' feedback. How do you guys think Kai and Sam will end up together again? Seems like everything is going okay so far. She's agreed to be friends with him again, so that's a start. Anyways, stay tuned for future chapters, and I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!**

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That afternoon, Sam returned to the Bounty after her long day at Borg Industries.

The whole workday, she had been thinking about Kai's new proposal of friendship. With thoughts of the red ninja buzzing around in her head, she had had trouble concentrating at times.

Why did Kai want to be friends with her all of a sudden? Was there any ulterior motive behind him wanting to be friends with her, or did he simply just want to make it up to her? She had long forgiven him, so she didn't know why he wanted to go the extra mile just to be friends with her. Speaking of spending time with her, what did Kai have in mind to do this afternoon? She had thought about what had she wanted to do with him, and decided that maybe a movie would be the safest, considering it could be interpreted as merely friends hanging out, just as easily as it could be interpreted as a date activity.

She had to admit that she had felt slightly guilty about agreeing to go out with him in front of Lloyd, who hadn't seemed to be in the best of moods. But if she and Kai were going out as friends, why did she feel bad? It wasn't like Lloyd would try to prevent her from hanging out with the red ninja, so it wasn't as if if she hadn't felt any pressure from him to say no.

So why did she feel so weird about it?

Shrugging internally, she walked through the front door, only to find no one was present.

_Training must have run a little later today_, she thought, setting her purse down on one of the kitchen chairs.

Sure enough, she could hear the faint grunts and shouts of the ninja outside. Which meant that she and Kai would not be going anywhere for at least an hour or so if he needed to shower beforehand. Therefore, she decided that she would shower and get changed into more comfortable clothes herself, to pass the time until they were finished with training.

* * *

Fully dressed and showered, Sam came back to the living room to find Cole and Zane sitting on the couch. Cole's damp hair indicated that he already taken his turn to shower.

"Hey Sam," Cole greeted the blonde politely as he saw her enter the room.

"Hey guys," Sam responded cheerfully, giving each of them a friendly smile. "Did Sensei work you guys hard today?"

The earth ninja nodded. "I would say so," he answered, turning to Zane, who nodded in agreement.

"Indeed," Zane said. "My CPU was quite warm when we were finished. I think the bodily function of perspiring would be an adequate comparison to the amount of effort I was exerting," he added, earning a look of pretend-disgust from his black-clad brother. .

"And how about you, Sam?" Cole asked, ignoring his teammate's remark. "Did you have a good day at your internship?"

The blonde glanced down at the ground, clearly reluctant to answer. "Yeah, I guess it was okay," she replied. "I guess I was just distracted, is all."

The earth ninja raised a brow curiously. "How so?"

Sam sighed. "I guess I was just thinking of Kai a lot," she admitted. "What happened between us and everything. I mean, we're okay now, but I guess I don't know where I stand with him anymore."

Cole nodded, knowing that the conflict between Kai and Lloyd was weighing on her shoulders quite heavily. "I can understand that," he said. "Have you confronted him about it?"

Sam shook her head. "No. All I know is that he wanted to hang out today, just as _friends_."

Her use of the word "friend" instantly made Cole's ears perk up. "No offense to you, Sam, but when you say it like that, it sounds like you aren't happy about it."

To his surprise, he watched her face turn red as she struggled to form an appropriate response to his comment.

"No, no, I'm totally fine with it," she said quickly, though it was obvious that she was flustered. "It's just...I don't know if he really wants to be friends with me or he's just doing it because he feels bad."

Cole shrugged. "Does it make a difference?" he asked. He figured that if Sam was truly over him, it would not matter to her what his intent was in becoming friends with her again.

"No...well, yes," she answered. "Only because I don't want him doing it out of pity."

"I understand where Sam is coming from," Zane interjected from next to Cole. "I would not want my brothers to be nice to me simply because they feel obligated to. In my opinion, that is not what real friendship is about."

"Yeah, but Sam's situation is a bit different," Cole responded. "She and Kai were friends, then they were in a relationship, then they broke up. If I were in Kai's situation, I would be trying to maintain a certain distance rather than getting all nice and cozy with my ex again, so in that case I can see where Sam is coming from. Because she doesn't know what he wants from her, and Kai has proven that he doesn't always know what he wants, either. If it's genuine, then it's fine, but if I were her, I wouldn't want him hanging around me just because he's sorry. That's a waste of time and energy."

Zane took a moment to process his brother's words. "I see," he muttered. "Why don't you ask Kai, and see what he says?" he asked, glancing up at Sam. "Surely he would be honest with you."

"I mean…" Sam trailed off, considering the nindroid's advice. However, before she could finish her thought, she heard a pair of footsteps enter the room, belonging to none other than the red ninja himself.

"Ah, I have never wanted a shower so badly in my life," he announced, brushing his damp hair back as he entered the living room. Immediately his eyes rested on Sam.

"Hey Sam," he greeted her, flashing her a friendly smile. "How was your internship?"

Sam returned the smile. "It was good," she said, exchanging glances with Cole and Zane, who knew far more about her day than he did. "How about you? I heard Sensei worked you guys hard today."

Kai playfully grimaced at the thought. "Ah, don't get me started," he said. "Especially in ninety degree weather, you'd think he'd get hot himself and leave us alone."

Cole chuckled. "That's wishful thinking, Kai, but I think you know Sensei better than that," he said. "The man's invincible. A hurricane wouldn't deter him from being outside."

"True," the red ninja agreed. "Though you'd think he'd switch to iced tea, at least." His eyes then returned to Sam. "Listen, Sam, I know we were planning on going out later, but Sensei told me that I had to get some groceries first."

"Oh," Sam said, her eyes widening in surprise. "That's fine. I'll go with you if you want."

Kai's face lit up almost instantly. "You will?" he asked. Even after braving the grocery store a few times by himself, he still would have felt better with some company.

"Sure," Sam replied. "Even if it's not what you had in mind, I'd be glad to go with you."

"Awesome," Kai said, grinning. "I know running errands isn't the first thing you wanted to do after a long day-"

"No, it's totally fine, Kai. I understand," she said, laughing. "You wouldn't wanna disappoint Sensei."

"Though I've disappointed Sensei before," the red ninja chuckled.

Meanwhile, Cole and Zane watched the banter between their brother and their houseguest with great amusement.

"Sorry to interrupt…" Cole interjected, causing them both to freeze. "But the clock is ticking. Food isn't gonna appear on the table magically now, is it?"

"For you it might," Kai teased, earning a glare from his teammate. "But yeah, seriously, we should probably get going."

Sam nodded, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Alright then. Lead the way."


	90. Chapter 90

Lloyd ran a hand through his damp hair as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror, lost in thought as gazed at his reflection.

He hadn't been exactly pleased to find that Kai was hanging around Sam that morning at breakfast, and throughout training today, that was all he had seemed to have been thinking about. But it wasn't just the incident at breakfast that was bothering him.

In general, his teammate had been extra chummy with her lately, which indicated to him that Kai wanted her back, for whatever reason. And it concerned him that Sam wasn't refusing the attention either. Of course, he'd never tell her to stay away from Kai directly, but he couldn't say that he wasn't bothered by it.

He shook his head, pushing those negative thoughts aside. Maybe he would ask her to do something this afternoon. Maybe he just needed to get away from the others for a while.

He went into the living room, and saw that Cole, Jay, and Zane were hanging out in front of the television. But there was no sign of Kai or Sam. He frowned, thinking that maybe she would've been back from her internship by now.

"Hey, Lloyd," Cole said, noticing his teammate had entered the room.

"Uh, hey, Cole," the green ninja answered, meeting his friend's gaze. "Do you know where Sam is, by any chance?"

Cole lifted his brow curiously at his younger teammate. He obviously hadn't heard about Kai's afternoon plans. "She went out with Kai to get some groceries," the earth ninja responded casually. "And he asked Sam to go with him."

His answer took Lloyd by surprise. "Did he now?" he asked, folding his arms in disapproval.

"Yeah, and apparently she decided to go with him," Cole added. He couldn't deny that he didn't feel bad for the guy, but there was no use in hiding the truth from him.

A pang of jealousy shot through the young ninja's chest. _That explains why she isn't here, _he thought, narrowing his eyes.

"When did they leave?" he asked curiously.

"About ten minutes ago," Cole answered, still sounding matter-of-fact. "You were probably in the shower."

Lloyd nodded. It was true that he had been cleaning up when Kai and Sam had left for the store. It could've been mere coincidence, but he found it interesting that Kai would decide to leave while he wasn't around. He wouldn't have had the chance to intervene if he simply wasn't there.

"Well, they better be coming right back," he huffed in annoyance.

Seeing there was nothing he could do, the green ninja slumped his shoulders in defeat. Kai may have won this time, but he wouldn't let it happen again. However, there was a small part of him that admitted that if Sam agreed to it, then maybe it was not as in his control as he wished. Maybe she felt obligated to go with him, nothing more. For whatever reason, regardless, he would be keeping a careful eye on his teammate from now on.

* * *

"Alright, so what does Sensei want you to get?" Sam asked as she and Kai walked into the grocery store.

Kai glanced down at the list Sensei had given him after training and began to read it out loud.

"Let's see...bread, turkey, chips…" He rolled his eyes thinking of Lloyd. "...cookies, laundry detergent, and…"

Sam raised a brow curiously, noticing his hesitation.

"...toilet paper."

He met her gaze, no doubt recalling the first time, even the second time he had purchased toilet paper, and she had been involved. Because of the fact that Sensei had asked him to buy TP the first time, that was how he had met her. That one item had caused all of this to happen in the first place; it was the reason why she was with him now.

"You guys go through that stuff pretty fast," she remarked, flashing him a sheepish smile. Normally, she might have laughed at his expense, but to be honest, she wasn't sure how to act around him now that they were just friends.

Hearing her speaking to him, Kai forced himself to look away. It was in the past anyways-there was no use in hoping they would ever be close again.

"Yeah, I blame Jay mostly," he joked, trying to appear indifferent to the situation. "Anyways, shall we go collect the groceries now?"

Sam nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Kai and Sam made their way through the checkout line, groceries in hand.

"We made good time, Sam," Kai commented as they began setting the items on the conveyer belt.

"We did," the blonde agreed, fishing out a bag of marshmallows from the cart.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kai noticed her set a blue package on the conveyer belt, one he didn't recall picking up.

"Marshmallows?" he asked, playfully raising an eyebrow at the interesting purchase.

Sam gave him a shy smile. "Yeah, I just wanted some," she admitted. "And I thought Jay might like some too."

"Well, that's very nice of you," Kai remarked, fishing out his wallet. "Ugh, Sensei only gave me a ten," he grumbled, leafing through his cash.

Sam noticed him struggling and couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for him.

"I can pay for some of it," she volunteered, digging into the pocket of her sweatpants for her own wallet.

Kai glanced up and saw her pull out her own wallet. "No, no, I couldn't ask that of you," he said. "It's Sensei's fault for not knowing how expensive things are these days."

"It was probably just an honest mistake," Sam said. "Besides, I'm the one that's making money."

Despite the red ninja's protests, Sam followed through with her offer, and pulled out a ten from her own wallet.

"Here, you can pay me back," she said, handing the cash to Kai.

Kai hesitated before taking the money from her. "Thanks Sam," he said, giving her an appreciative smile. "I owe you one."

Sam felt a blush creep across her cheeks, seeing how grateful he was for her favor. Along with his smile, she saw his brown eyes twinkle, the same adorable way they had when she had first met him at the grocery store. They were earnest and thoughtful. She couldn't resist smiling back at him.

* * *

"I'm glad you came with me, Sam," Kai said as they walked through the parking lot.

Sam turned to see the red ninja watching her attentively.

"I know it's not what you had in mind," he said. "But I guess we're just going to have to make it up somehow."

She didn't know why, but the resoluteness in the red ninja's voice, along with the thought of going out with him again made her heart skip a beat.

"Well, uh, what'd you have in mind?" she asked, struggling to form words. In her opinion, he definitely didn't have to plan for something else, but if he was insistent on it, she guessed she would roll with it.

"I'll leave that up to you," he answered, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Besides, I'm the one that owes you."

"Well," Sam began, running through the list of activities in her mind. "I was thinking maybe we could go see a movie."

"A movie…" Kai trailed off, pondering her suggestion. It was a good idea. Even if that was what they had done on their first date, it was the most low-risk activity he could think of. He and his brothers watched movies all the time. What difference did it make if it was him and Sam?

"Sounds good," he grinned. "Do you wanna go on Saturday?"

"Sure!" Sam agreed. "That'd be perfect."

"Cool," he said, gazing into her sparkling blue eyes. Even if it was just a simple outing, he was happy that he was becoming a part of her life again.


	91. Chapter 91

When Kai and Sam returned to the Bounty, they found the rest of the ninja hanging out in the living room, except for Zane, who was busily making dinner in the kitchen.

"We're back," Kai announced, setting the grocery bags on the counter. Sam followed his example.

"Well, that was quick," Cole remarked, glancing at the clock. The former couple had left around quarter to five, and they had already returned to the ship before six o'clock.

"Yeah, and we were efficient," the red ninja added, reaching into one of the grocery bags. "And Sam got something for you, Jay."

The sound of his name instantly made the blue ninja's ears perk up. "Me?" he asked, glancing at Sam.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, I got you some marshmallows," she explained. "I thought you'd like them after you guys have been working so hard with your training and all."

Kai pulled out the package of marshmallows from the bag and held them up for his teammate to see. Jay's blue eyes immediately lit up upon seeing his prized snack food.

"Wow, thanks, Sam!" he exclaimed, getting up from his seat on the couch and eagerly walking towards the package.

"I would advise you not to spoil your dinner, Jay," Zane interjected from the kitchen. "It would not surprise me if you ate that entire package in one sitting."

"Aw, come on, I just want a few!" the blue ninja whined as he took the package from Kai.

"Ha, that's a likely story," Cole remarked sarcastically as his teammate began munching on the sweets.

While in the midst of chewing, the blue ninja glared at his brother. "Says the one who's _always_ eating," he retorted, shamelessly helping himself to another marshmallow.

Meanwhile, from the kitchen, Sam noticed Lloyd sitting quietly on the couch, appearing lost in his thoughts. He had been silent since she and Kai had gotten home.

Setting her stuff down, Sam left Kai's side and walked over to Lloyd, who looked up to see his girlfriend approach him.

"Hey Lloyd," Sam said, giving him a warm smile.

"Hey Sam," Lloyd returned the greeting. "How was the shopping trip?"

"Er, it was good," she answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt slightly guilty for not telling him where she had been going in the first place.

"That's good," Lloyd said, nodding. "It was nice of you to go with Kai. No doubt he asked you to go with him."

"Yeah, he did," she replied. She didn't bother to add that her decision to go had been strictly voluntary.

"So anyways," Lloyd began, awkwardly running a hand through his hair. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out after dinner, just the two of us."

Sam's eyes flickered over to Kai, who was busy taunting Jay with his marshmallows, before answering. "Yeah, I would like that," she said, giving the green ninja a warm smile.

"Cool," he replied, smiling back at her. Kai wouldn't be able to bother them, at least for a little while.

"I believe dinner is ready," Zane announced from the kitchen. "Would someone mind informing Sensei and Misako?"

"I'll go get them," Cole said, standing up from his seat on the couch. "If they're looking at one of her scrolls though, it might be hard to pull them away."

"I'll go get Nya," Jay volunteered, his hand shooting up in the air. "She's been working all day on renovations to the control room. And what better way to end her long day of hard work than a visit by yours truly?"

Kai and Cole both rolled their eyes at their teammate's remark.

"Anything _but _that," the earth ninja muttered, too quietly for his brother to hear.

After Jay and Cole had left to fetch their respective family members, that left Kai, Lloyd, Sam, and Zane, who was still finishing up in the kitchen.

"Please, take a seat," the nindroid insisted, motioning towards the empty table. Occupied with chopping veggies, he was unaware of the awkward tension that the lack of the others' presence left behind.

Lloyd eyed Kai curiously as he started to take a seat in his usual spot on the left side of the table.

"Come on, let's go sit down," he said, putting a protective hand on Sam's shoulder.

Sam nodded, and the two followed the red ninja's example, taking a seat in their usual places, with Sam and Lloyd sitting next to each other.

The blonde glanced down at her lap uncomfortably, noticing the wary look Lloyd was giving his red-clad teammate.

"This is nice," Kai finally said, giving the younger ninja a cheeky grin. "I don't remember the last time we've had a conversation, Lloyd."

Lloyd was slightly taken aback by his brother's comment but refused to show any sign of surprise. "I don't know, either," he answered flatly, his expression stoic.

Kai's gaze then travelled towards Sam, who was fidgeting with her hands nervously as they remained in her lap.

"I bet you're glad you didn't have to make dinner tonight, huh, Sam?" he asked, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Sam glanced up from her lap to see both Kai and Lloyd watching her closely.

"Yeah, I'm glad," she answered, forcing herself to smile. Normally, she may have found Kai's attempt at conversation amusing, but the situation between him and Lloyd was making her anxious.

Lloyd's eyes lingered on Sam, observing her interaction with the red ninja before turning back to Kai. Just because he was wary of his teammate's intentions these days, didn't mean he couldn't be civil.

"Did Sensei make you go to the store again?" he asked.

Kai nodded. "Yep," he said, stretching his arms behind his head, trying to appear oblivious to his brother's accusatory gaze. "You wouldn't believe how busy it was. Didn't you think it was pretty busy, Sam?" he asked.

"Yeah, I thought so," Sam replied. She secretly wondered why Kai kept shining the spotlight on her.

Unbeknownst to her, Lloyd also found Kai's inclusion of her interesting, if not suspicious.

"So, I'm assuming you guys got everything Sensei asked for?"

"Yeah, we did actually," the red ninja answered. "Plus marshmallows," he added, giving Sam a playful wink.

To his delight, this time, he saw her smile, for real this time. Instead of being forced, it was a large grin, one that seemed to make her entire face light up.

"Though I probably wouldn't have found those things so quickly without her help," he continued, his gaze lingering on hers.

Lloyd scoffed, mentally brushing off the fact that Kai had induced a positive reaction out of her.

"Well, we all know you need lots of help, Kai," he replied, causing the red ninja to give him a funny look.

"Dinner is served," Zane announced, continuing to be unaware of the passive-aggressive banter his teammates were participating in. The nindroid set the steaming tray of meat on the table.

"Oh, good, I'm starving," Cole exclaimed as he and the elders walked into the dining room area, followed by Jay and Nya.

Peeling his eyes off of his teammate, Kai reluctantly dropped the subject, knowing that his cocky behavior may have done him more harm than good in the end. More or less, he was satisfied that he had gotten somewhat of a rise out of Lloyd.

"Ah, I see the shoppers have returned," Sensei said, eyeing the former couple as the rest of the group sat down to eat.

"Yeah, Sensei, we did," Kai said, glancing across the table at Sam. "It was a pretty long list, but we made good time."

"Even better," the older man remarked, nodding at the two in approval.

"And Sam even paid for some of it," the red ninja added. "I think you gave me a ten by mistake instead of a twenty."

"Did I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, TP isn't cheap, you know," Jay interjected from across the kitchen. "Well, it can be, unless you want a red, sore-"

"Not at the table, Jay!" the ninja and Nya interrupted him.

"I suppose I may have underestimated the cost," Sensei said, disregarding his pupil's comment. He then turned to the blonde, who was sitting quietly towards the end of the table.

"Thank you, Sam," he said. "I will be sure to pay you back in full."

"Thank you, Sensei," Sam answered, giving the older man an appreciative smile.

Suddenly, Cole cleared his throat. "So, what's for dinner tonight, Zane?" he asked, hungrily eyeing the plate of meat in the center.

"Orange chicken," Zane replied, setting a large bowl of salad on the table. "I hope it is to your satisfaction."

"Please, Zane, anything you make is awesome," Jay said, reaching for the bowl of salad.

After putting a couple of items away in the kitchen, the white ninja took a seat on the other side of Lloyd. "It appears that we should dig in now," he insisted.

And with that, the plate of orange chicken was quickly passed around.

Next to Zane, Misako observed the other end of the table, more specifically, her son and the former couple.

She had been unaware that Sam had accompanied Kai to the grocery store this afternoon. And while it may have made no difference to the archaeologist if it had been someone else who had gone with him, the fact that _they_ had gone together signaled that feelings still existed between the young people, whether they were ignorant of them or not. Combined with spending time together before breakfast, Misako knew that the relationship between Sam and her son would be coming to a close sooner or later.

It just pained her to think that maybe it would be her son who would get hurt in the process.

Even if by some quirk of fate that the college student chose to stay with Lloyd, there would be resentment between the two brothers, which would not be good for the team either.

Misako knew that Wu was more hands-off when it came to the team's romantic lives, but she couldn't help but feel that it was her duty to intervene, and to inform her son of the sudden turn of events. He was clearly aware of Kai and Sam's growing relationship, which was demonstrated by his reaction at breakfast that morning.

Even if Sam was not intending to act on her feelings for Kai, there was no denying that she harbored a fondness for him that was beyond platonic, and that Lloyd was the one affected by it.

It may have been out of the older woman's jurisdiction to confront Kai or even Sam about her stance on their relationship (technically the blonde girl wasn't doing anything wrong by remaining friends with the red ninja), but at least Misako could talk to Lloyd about it and get his perspective. Maybe she would talk to Wu as well and request that he talk to Kai.

One thing was for sure: dancing around the delicate situation would not last forever. Someone was bound to trip, if not get stepped on.

* * *

**So Misako has decided to talk to Lloyd about his relationship with Sam. How do think that will go? It seems that Sam and Kai are headed in the right direction in repairing their relationship, but at the cost of Lloyd's feelings? Stay tuned to find out! Anyways, thank you so much for all your nice comments, they really help me stay motivated to keep writing! I promise to update soon! ~measuremesky**


	92. Chapter 92

"I'm glad we got to spend some time together," Lloyd said as he and Sam walked through the park, enjoying the pleasant summer evening. After dinner, he had invited Sam to take a walk with him, just to get away from the others for a while - well, mainly from Kai, in Lloyd's case.

He didn't understand why, but Kai's behavior at dinner had deeply irritated him, especially when the red ninja constantly referenced Sam, as if he was still that involved in her life anymore. He guessed that it was just easy for his brother to get under his skin, especially when it involved their current houseguest, which is why it was probably beneficial for him to take a step back and spend some time alone with her.

"Me, too," Sam said, flashing him a smile.

Dinner for her had been extremely awkward, between Lloyd's hostile glances at Kai, and Kai's constant highlighting of what they had done at the grocery store. She could sense Lloyd had been growing more impatient with his teammate the more Kai provoked him. She was just thankful that there hadn't been a blowup between them like there had been when Skylor had visited.

Except that the ongoing bickering between the brothers left her more at a loss. She knew that if Kai and Lloyd continued to fight, it would be hard to maintain a friendship with Kai while continuing to date Lloyd.

"You okay, Sam?" the green ninja asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay," she said quickly, nodding her head.

Lloyd raised a brow curiously, but did not question her further. Chances were, she was thinking of Kai again.

"It's a beautiful evening," he remarked, admiring the setting sun in the distance.

Sam followed his gaze and watched the sun peeking through the trees as it lowered below the horizon.

She was instantly reminded of the time when she and Lloyd had watched the sun rise together on their early morning walk a couple weeks ago, when Kai still hadn't been speaking to her.

She smiled fondly at the memory. "It is," she agreed, talking more to herself than to Lloyd.

The couple continued to walk through the park, passing by the Titanium Ninja statue that was built in Zane's honor.

"Wasn't it you who got the team back together, Lloyd?" she asked, the sight of the statue triggering memories of the Tournament of Elements.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. I had to, since the guys were too caught up in their own misery," he explained, studying the monument. "Sensei said it was my job to keep the team together, possibly even to recruit a new ninja."

"Who would you have picked, do you think?" she inquired, tilting her head curiously.

Lloyd thought for a moment. "I don't really know, exactly," he replied, smiling sheepishly. "We may have had to hold some sort of audition or something like that."

His answer made Sam laugh. "Ninja Auditions, maybe?" she joked.

Her humor caused Lloyd to smile. "That would've been interesting," he said, chuckling. "I'm glad we didn't, though."

His gaze lingered on the statue before he turned his attention towards the blonde.

"Don't worry, you would've made the cut," he teased, giving her a playful nudge.

Sam raised a brow suspiciously. "Would I?" she questioned, causing Lloyd to playfully avert his eyes in an antagonistic manner.

"Well, with a little more practice."

Passing the statue, Lloyd consciously tried intertwining his hand with hers. With the slight brush of his hand, Sam noticed the gesture and interlaced her fingers with his, accepting the contact.

He felt his face heat up, more assured now that she still had a romantic attachment to him. He liked the sensation of holding a girl's hand, knowing that the feeling was mutual.

"Can I ask you something, Sam?" he asked.

"Sure, Lloyd. Anything."

Their pace slowed to a complete stop as the green ninja spun around to face her. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for what he was about to say. He didn't know how she would take it, considering they hadn't known each other that long, but he truly wanted to know where he stood with her.

"I know we've only know each other for a few weeks," he began, swallowing nervously. "But I wanted to ask you…"

Sam tilted head curiously, noticing the blush dusting his cheeks deepen.

"...if you could ever, you know, see a future with me?"

Sam let out a small gasp, inaudible to anyone but herself, as her eyes widened in shock. Where was he going with his?

Lloyd noticed her sudden change in expression and felt his face grow hotter, realizing he may have given her the wrong impression.

"I-I guess what I'm trying to say is," he said, shyly glancing down at the ground before looking back up at her, "would you be my steady girlfriend?"

Even after clarification, Sam was at a loss for words.

"Oh, uh-" she stammered, completely caught off guard.

Instead of answering right away, she took a minute to ponder his proposal.

Lloyd and her had been casually dating for a couple of weeks now, and while she may have considered their relationship "official" already, she assumed that Lloyd was asking for something more serious. Not engaged, but somewhere between being engaged and being an official couple. Something she wasn't sure she was ready for.

Thoughts of Kai lurked in the back of her mind. She knew that her attachment towards him was irrational, considering they were just friends now, and since she had been dating Lloyd, she had lost her romantic feelings for him, right?

Despite any fondness she may have had for the red ninja, she felt she should point out to herself that Kai had hurt her, and even though she had forgiven him, that didn't necessarily mean he wouldn't act erratic again. After all, it wasn't uncommon for a person to make the same mistake twice.

Lloyd, on the other hand, was very clear about his feelings for her, and what his intentions for their relationship were. He had never wronged her in any way, and he was always nice and respectful, as well as receptive of her feelings.

On paper, he was a perfect match. And without knowing where she stood with Kai, it was clear who she should be emotionally invested in.

"Yes," she finally said, glancing up at him. "I would like that."

Lloyd studied her for a moment before he broke into a huge grin. "Awesome," he said, mentally cheering at his victory.

Everything was falling into place. Sam was now his serious girlfriend, and, better yet, Kai couldn't take her from him.

* * *

**Seems like Lloyd's a little too focused on one-upping Kai, isn't he? How do you think Sam will handle being Kai's friend, while being Lloyd's serious girlfriend at the same time? Do you think she'll be able to be both? I already have two more chapters pretty much ready for posting, so stay tuned to find out what happens! Again, thank you all so much for reading my story, and expect another chapter up soon! ~measuremesky**


	93. Chapter 93

"Have a good night, Sam."

"You too, Lloyd."

Sam gave the green ninja a quick good night peck before shutting the bedroom door behind her, leaving a stunned yet happy Lloyd to lightly touch the spot where Sam's lips had just feathered his cheek.

He could get used to that, for sure. Really, Kai didn't know what he was missing.

Meanwhile, at the end of the hall, Misako had been heading to her room for the night when she had seen the exchange between the two young people.

The whole day she had been thinking of talking to Lloyd about the situation regarding Sam and Kai, but seeing her son's brightened face made the confrontation even more difficult. Still, she could not stand by and let him get hurt, or let his relationship with his teammate suffer.

"Lloyd," Misako called into the hall, causing him to whirl around and face her.

"Hey, Mom," he answered. "I was just gonna get some shuteye."

"Me too," the older woman said, smiling. "But I was wondering if I could speak with you for a second."

Lloyd paused before approaching his mother, a curious expression written on his face.

"Sure. What's up?" he asked.

To his surprise, Misako motioned him into the guest bedroom where she was staying and shut the door behind them, causing him to raise a brow curiously.

"What's this about?" he asked again, growing anxious with his mother's silence.

Misako sighed. "Lloyd," she began, turning to face him after shutting the door. "I know you and Sam are becoming very close. Is that not true?"

Lloyd was surprised by the question, but nodded. "Yes, Mom, it is," he said. "In fact, I asked her to be my serious girlfriend tonight."

Misako's eyes widened. That explained why they had acted differently when they had gotten back from their walk.

"You did, hmm?"

Lloyd nodded once more. "Yeah, me and Sam - it's given me a different outlook, you know. Like, I'm not just the green ninja all the time. I'm not defined by my role on the team."

"I understand," Misako said, giving him a sympathetic smile. She couldn't relate exactly, but she was well aware of the pressure that had been put on him over the past few years in his role as the main protector of Ninjago.

She continued. "It's just - don't you think you may be rushing into things too quickly?" she asked. "You've only known Sam for a few weeks now. When you've known someone for such a short period of time, there may be certain things that don't come out until later."

"What do you mean?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

"I mean, there may be things about Sam that don't set well with you, and once you discover these things it may be too late to reverse the damage," Misako said. "I know you like her, Lloyd, but you may want to rethink rushing into something so quickly."

Lloyd processed his mother's words, but instead of feeling reassured of his relationship with Sam, he felt himself growing defensive of it. He studied his mother's expression, sensing that she was withholding some information.

"What are you not telling me?" narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

Misako met her son's gaze and sighed. The truth had to come out sooner or later.

"Lloyd," she began gently, "I think what you and Sam have is great. No complaints from me. But, you see, Lloyd, sometimes destiny has a plan for us."

"What kind of plan?" Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow at the ambiguity of her words.

"Relationships," Misako stated firmly. "Relationships. And from what I can tell, Sam appears to be having trouble coping with her feelings for Kai," she explained. "Which indicates to me that there may be a greater force at work."

Lloyd frowned, folding his arms at the mention of his teammate.

"What makes you so sure that she does?" he asked. "She seems perfectly happy with me."

"Indeed she does," Misako said, not arguing with his current point. "But don't you think that maybe she hasn't sorted everything out just yet?"

"Look, why are we even talking about this?" Lloyd huffed, not bothering to answer her question. "Sam likes me, okay? And I like her. Why is everyone trying to get in the way of that?"

Misako let her son's words sink in.

"Have you considered how Kai feels about all this?"

"Kai had his chance," Lloyd shot back, resentment in his voice. "And as far as I'm concerned, we aren't friends anymore."

Before Misako could craft an appropriate response, Lloyd reached for the doorknob of the guest bedroom door and opened it.

"Goodnight, Mom," he said, giving her one last glance before shutting the door behind him, leaving the older woman standing alone in the room.

Misako shook her head as gazed down at the ground, disappointed by the outcome of the conversation.

"That could've gone better," she said aloud to no one.

She knew that Lloyd was sensitive, but she had hoped that he would've been more understanding of the current situation. Knowing Lloyd, there was more to the story than simply being upset over advice to assess his relationship with didn't get worked up like that unless there was something eating at him.

She also knew that his outburst about not being friends with Kai anymore was just a reaction to his current state of mind, but nonetheless, it worried her. The last thing she wanted her son to do was to take out his emotions on other people.

Unfortunately, Kai happened to be that person at the moment.

If the boys could work it out on their own, that would be fantastic. However, Misako felt that maybe Sam would have to intervene. She could only hope that the young woman would set him straight, as well as make things right between the two brothers again.


	94. Chapter 94

Sam tossed and turned in her bed, struggling to get comfortable as she replayed the day's events in her head.

Overall, she was satisfied with her decision to commit to the green ninja. It was true that they had good chemistry when they were together, and whenever Lloyd was happy, she felt happiness as well.

But then there was Kai.

No matter how hard she tried to take her mind off of him, her thoughts kept returning to the red ninja, like what movie they were going to see on Saturday, and how they were going to continue to rebuild their friendship. Most importantly, how she was going to conduct her friendship with him while continuing to date Lloyd.

One thing was for sure, there were going to be boundaries, boundaries that needed to be defined before they went out together this Saturday, knowing that going out with him in general was going to make Lloyd feel uneasy. Despite the awkwardness between her and Kai, she wanted to be faithful in her relationship with the green ninja.

She supposed that the awkward feelings between them would go away once they learned to manage their friendship better. Hopefully that time would be soon.

* * *

"So, is this the day?" Jay asked as Kai stood in front of the full-length mirror in their bedroom.

The red ninja nodded, admiring his reflection as he smoothed a spiky strand of hair down. "Today is the day, Jay," he said, straightening the collar of his ninja suit. "I'm finally gonna tell Sam how I feel about her."

Jay let out a loud sigh. "Well, this time, I'm glad it's gonna be you who tells her," he remarked, teasingly rolling his eyes. He had kept his mouth shut for almost a week now, but his urge to tell Sam about his teammate's feelings had been slowly eating away at him. He was glad Kai had finally gathered enough courage to be upfront with her.

"Come on, guys!" a husky voice called from the hallway. "Breakfast is almost ready!"

"Coming!" Jay and Kai both responded in unison.

The blue ninja chuckled. "Guess we better get a move on before Cole eats all the food," he joked. "I don't even know why he bothers telling us when he's just gonna eat it all himself."

"It's a mystery," Kai responded, giving himself one last glance in the mirror before turning to leave the room.

There was no backing out. He was going to confront her, and no one, not even Lloyd could stop him from doing so.

* * *

Sam entered the kitchen that morning, dazed from her long night of worrying about Kai. She had spent most of her waking hours formulating what she was going to say to him regarding their relationship. And while her words weren't perfect yet, she had mainly sorted out what she wanted to tell him.

"Good morning, Sam," Sensei greeted the young college student as she took a seat at the table.

"Good morning, Sensei," Sam responded politely, giving the older man a respectful nod.

From across the table, Kai eyed her curiously. Was it just him, or did she seem more on edge than usual?

"Good morning, Sam," Lloyd said, giving her a friendly peck on the cheek before returning to his attention back to his waffles.

_Okay, that was new_, Kai thought to himself.

Oblivious to Kai's internal reaction, Jay studied Sam.

From what he could tell, the blonde had dark circles under her eyes, which were slightly glazed over, indicating her lack of sleep.

"Gee, you look tired, Sam," he pointed out, earning a nudge from Kai, who may or may not have thought he was being too direct in his observation.

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah, I had a long night," she answered, as Zane placed a stack of waffles on her plate. "Thank you, Zane."

"My pleasure," the nindroid replied as he returned to skillet to finish preparing the bacon.

"Did you have trouble sleeping?" Jay pried, continuing the conversation.

Sam nodded once more. "Yeah. I just had a lot on my mind, I guess."

Her response caused Lloyd's ears to perk up. It couldn't have been because he had asked for a committed relationship with her, could it?

"Anything in particular?" Jay continued, refusing to drop the subject.

Sam paused for a moment before shaking her head. "No, not really. Just work, I guess," she said quickly.

It was safe to assume that no one at the table believed her answer, but Jay chose to let go of the topic, in fear of saying something he shouldn't, as well as further stressing her out. Selfish as it sounded, she needed to be in a good mood when Kai talked to her.

"It'll be okay, Sam," Lloyd said, giving her a reassuring smile. "If you want, we can talk about it later in private if you want."

Sam returned the smile. "Thanks, Lloyd," she answered, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Kai's eyes narrowed as they travelled from Sam to Lloyd. He wondered why they were acting extra chummy towards one another this morning.

"So, how was your walk last night?" he asked curiously, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of them that would clue him in as to what was going on.

"It was good," Lloyd answered, taking another bite of his waffles.

Kai raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You were out for a while," he remarked. "Anything special going on downtown?"

The green ninja shook his head. "Nope, just wanted to get some fresh air."

"Ah, I see," he nodded, though his teammate's quick responses told him there was more to the story. "Just sayin', it seems like there's a lot you're not telling us."

Lloyd sighed, growing increasingly aggravated by the red ninja's behavior.

"Look, Kai, whatever me and Sam did last night is really none of your business," he stated matter-of-factly, though there was a bite to his words that made the rest of the team, including Sensei, glance up from their food.

Kai was slightly taken aback by the irritation in his voice, but decided it was best to drop the subject.

"Okay, okay, I'm done," he said, waving his his arms in surrender.

Lloyd gave his teammate a look before returning to his breakfast, as if the exchange hadn't happened. He supposed he was extra sensitive due the uncomfortable talk he and his mother had had the night before. Needless to say, he was tired of all the criticism he was receiving for being with Sam. It was as if no one wanted him to be in a relationship with her.

"Training begins in ten minutes, ninja," Sensei announced, eyeing the two teammates specifically.

"Yes, Sensei," the ninja echoed, as they began to gather up their dishes.

From where she was sitting, Sam glanced up at the red ninja as he got up to put his empty plate in the sink. She supposed that she would tell him after she got home from work.

After he put his dishes away, Kai glanced over at Sam, just as her head turned away from him. He sensed that her bad night was due to something other than her worry about work. Because if he knew anything about Sam, it was that she loved her work at Borg Industries. He thought that maybe it had something to do with her and Lloyd, but he couldn't be too sure, since she acted as though everything was fine between them. Though Lloyd had been a bit on the defensive side a few minutes ago.

Either way, he decided would confront her about it later, at her discretion, of course. He just wanted to make sure she was okay.


	95. Chapter 95

**Hi everyone! It's been awhile since I last posted! I had this chapter already written a couple days ago and was planning to post it, but with the holidays and everything, I've just been so busy to do so. Hope you guys had and are still having a good holiday! I will try to have another chapter up before New Year's, so be on the lookout for that! Again, thank you so much for reading my story and I hope you all are still enjoying it! Happy holidays! ~measuremesky**

* * *

When Sam came home from work that afternoon, she was greeted by an empty house. The ninja were still out on the deck training, and she was not sure when they would be finished, so, not knowing what else to do, she headed to her room to pass the time, planning the right moment to tell Kai about her terms for their friendship.

On the deck, Sensei Wu sat and observed his pupils as they practiced battling one another.

"Focus on your surroundings. Do not rely on your eyes, but on your ears," the older man instructed.

Kai, who was currently blindfolded, along with the rest of his teammates, tried to concentrate on what his teacher was saying, but his thoughts kept returning to Sam, and how he was going to confess his feelings for her when she got home. He had already promised Jay that he would not let another day pass without Sam knowing how he felt about her.

"Ow!" he exclaimed as his sparring partner landed a blow to his shoulder.

Hearing his teammate's cry, Jay lifted his blindfold to see his friend wincing in pain after he had accidentally whacked him with his nunchucks.

"Gee, someone's a little out of it today," he teased, earning a glare from his partner.

"You know _why_ I'm out of it, Jay," the red ninja retorted, pulling his own blindfold off, though the small smile he was wearing showed he wasn't truly mad at his teammate's remark.

"So, you still planning on telling her?" the blue ninja asked curiously.

Kai glanced at his teacher who was watching the other ninja intently, paying no attention to them. "Yeah," he replied. "I just don't know _when_ just yet."

"Just tell her when she gets home," Jay said. "Pull her aside. Take her out. Just do _something_. I'm tired of you tearing yourself to pieces over this."

"I know, I know," he answered quickly, lowering his voice in hopes no one could hear them. "I just want to be alone with her when I do it. It's hard when there are _others_ always watching."

Jay watched his teammate's eyes settle on the green ninja, who was busy sparring with Cole.

"You give the kid too much credit, Kai," he scoffed. "It's not like _he _makes the decisions for her. Sam can think for herself, whoever she decides to be with."

"I guess you're right," Kai said, reluctantly peeling his eyes off the battle ensuing on the other side of the deck. "I just wish it was me she wanted to be with again."

"You'll never know unless you try, that's what I always say," Jay said, playfully nudging his teammate's shoulder. "I mean, come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

A look of horror flashed across the red ninja's face as he began to consider the possible worst-case scenario.

"Ookay, forget I said that," the blue ninja added quickly. "Just be honest with her. She'll appreciate it."

"Thanks, Jay," Kai said, recovering from his moment of fear. "I owe you one."

"Jay! Kai!" a voice exclaimed causing the pair to jump. They whirled around to see their teacher watching them, their long period of inactivity catching their teacher's eye. "Focus!"

"Yes, Sensei," they echoed, slowly getting into their battle stances once more.

"Actually, Sensei," Kai started, causing the older man to glance up at his student. "It's really hot out here. Would it be alright if I grabbed a glass of water real quick?"

Sensei studied his pupil for a moment before nodding. "That is fine. In the meantime, Jay" - he said, locking eyes with the blue ninja - "can practice with Zane."

"Thanks, Sensei," Kai said, bowing respectfully.

"Aw, but Zane always beats me!" Jay complained, meeting the white ninja's gaze from the other side of the deck.

"All the more reason you should be practicing with him," Sensei responded matter-of-factly, earning a huff of disappointment from the blue ninja. "Go ahead, Kai."

"Thanks," the red ninja said, giving his teacher one last appreciative glance before heading inside.

* * *

In the kitchen, Kai grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured himself some water from the tap.

Truth was, he didn't ask his teacher for a break only because he was thirsty. He mainly wanted to kill time, in hopes that he would be able to talk to Sam in private when she got home.

To further delay going back outside, he decided to head to his room to freshen up, intending to make himself look as presentable as he could in his sweaty uniform.

However, as he passed by Nya's room, a head of light hair stepped out into the hall in front of him.

"Oh, hey!" Kai exclaimed, locking eyes with the blonde.

"Hi," Sam answered, surprised to see the red ninja. "Done with training for the day?"

Kai rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, not exactly," he said. "Just needed a break, is all."

Both of them glanced down at the floor awkwardly, neither of them knowing what else to say.

"How're you feeling?" he finally asked, remembering her behavior at breakfast and how it had concerned him.

"Good," she answered, giving him a small smile of reassurance. "I just have a lot on my mind, which is why I was acting kinda weird this morning. It's no big deal, really."

She considered explaining to him what had been on her mind specifically, but before she could open her mouth to speak, he took the silence as an opportunity to confess.

"Look, Sam," he began, slowly gathering up his courage, "I need to talk to you."

The tone of his voice reminded her that there was something she needed to get off her chest as well. "Same here," she said.

Kai was slightly caught off guard by her response. What did she want to tell him?

"You go first," he insisted. If there was something on her mind that she was willing to share with him, he was more than eager to let her speak first.

"It's about the movie on Saturday," she admitted.

Her answer immediately made him freeze.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, his brows furrowing in concern. She wasn't going to cancel on him, was she?

Sam's eyes widened in alarm, realizing that her tone might have made him apprehensive about what she was going to say next.

"No, no, it's not that," she said quickly. "I-I was worried that I may have given you the wrong impression when I said I wanted to go to the movie with you," she explained.

Kai tilted his head curiously at the interesting remark. "What kind of impression?" he asked.

Sam sighed, gazing into his questioning brown eyes. She had spent most of her waking hours piecing her words together in just the right way. For her own sake, for their friendship's sake, she needed to say it. This was for the best.

"I just wanted to make it clear that we are just friends," she said. "And I fully intend to carry out that promise."

Like a thousand-ton weight had been dropped over them, Kai could feel any hope of getting back together with her being squashed underneath her words.

"Oh," he mumbled, completely stunned by her response.

"I hope this doesn't change our friendship in any way," she added. "I just want to make sure that we are on the same page."

Somehow, Kai managed to get his vocal cords working again. "I understand," he said. "That's all I wanted us to be too...just friends…"

He glanced up at her and saw that her blue eyes were filled with concern.

"I'm still looking forward to the movie though," she said. "It'll be fun to go as friends."

"Yeah, it will," he answered, forcing himself to smile.

A long silence passed before Sam spoke again, still not convinced that he was feeling okay.

"What did you want to tell me?" she asked innocently. At the time when he had bumped into her, it had seemed slightly urgent.

Kai shook his head. "Oh, uh -" he stammered, desperate for an excuse. "It was nothing. Just wanted to see if you were okay."

Sam smiled. "I appreciate that." Internally, she found it awfully sweet of him to worry about her like that.

"Listen," he began, breaking through her thoughts, "I-I should probably get back to training."

"I totally understand," she said, letting out a small laugh. "Have fun."

"I'll try."

With a slight nod, Kai turned and disappeared into the hall, heading back outside to train. Sam watched as he left, pondering what she had told him.

When she heard the sliding door shut, she sighed. She had told herself that it was for the best that she had voiced her intentions to him, so that neither of them would be left wondering where the other stood.

However, when she had told him she was merely intending to be friends again, she had sensed disappointment radiating from him, which surprised her, considering he was the one who had initiated being friends with her in the first place. Isn't that what he had wanted all along? Both parties should have been happy then.

She had told herself that she would feel better after doing this. So why didn't she?


	96. Chapter 96

Later that evening, it was Nya's turn to make dinner. The samurai had spent most of the day working on upgrading the control room; therefore, she was mildly on the tired side, but thankfully she had someone helping her.

While she was busy at the stove preparing the teriyaki chicken, Jay was standing on the other side of the kitchen island, chopping vegetables.

"How was training today, Jay?" Nya asked, attempting to strike up a conversation with the blue ninja while her back was still turned to him.

"It was good," he answered, chopping up some carrots. "Kai was a little out of it today, though."

"And how is my brother?" the dark-haired girl asked curiously.

"Not so good, I think," Jay replied. "He said he was going to talk to Sam about his feelings, but he seemed awfully upset after he came back outside from getting a drink of water," he explained. "He had a weird expression on his face. Something tells me that when he was inside, he ran into her, and she told him something that wasn't so good."

"You got all that just by reading his face?" she inquired, surprise in her voice.

"Hey, I've known the guy for a few years now," he said matter-of-factly. "And being his best friend, I've picked up on the signs."

"It's amazing how close you guys are," Nya remarked. "Even I have a hard time knowing what he's thinking."

"Well, it wasn't too hard to tell," Jay answered. "I swung at him like five times and he didn't even flinch. I asked him what's wrong and he said he didn't wanna talk about it."

"Hmm, that doesn't sound good," she agreed, concern clouding her features. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm gonna go talk to him later," he said. "As soon as I finish chopping the onions."

A moment of silence passed between the couple before the samurai spoke again.

"Where is everyone, by the way?" she asked. "I haven't seen anyone since I left the control room."

"Lloyd and Cole are training in the training room," Jay answered. "Zane went to Sensei's study to read. I haven't seen Kai either, but I can probably guess where he is. And Sam's likely in your guys' room."

"Yeah, I saw her when I went in to freshen up," Nya said. "She seemed kinda distant or something."

"No doubt it's about Kai," Jay remarked. "I see it in her face."

"See what, Jay?" she asked, his comment prompting her to turn around to face him.

Jay paused from chopping the vegetables, realizing that he may have said too much at this point.

"What I mean is," he began, clearing his throat as he turned to face her. "I see the way she looks at Lloyd, and while it may be friendship, it is definitely not romantic love of any kind, whatsoever."

"And how do you know that?" Nya asked, her chocolate orbs full of question.

Jay held his ground. "I mean, the kid's barely an adult, and he's already diving into a serious relationship."

The samurai shrugged, ready to play devil's advocate. "Love can happen at any age, Jay," she said. The glimmer in her chocolate brown eyes indicated that she was remembering the first time she had met the blue ninja, when he had asked her what her favorite color was. Both of them were pretty young when they first met, if not younger than Lloyd's physical age now.

The blue-clad ninja sighed in playful defeat. "I know," he said, his cheeks darkening as he hung his head in pretend shame. "But we were special, Nya. I just don't think that Lloyd realizes what he's getting into. And you've seen the way Sam and Kai act when they're in the same room," he added. "They can't stop looking at each other."

Nya took a moment to process what her boyfriend was saying.

"You're right, Jay," she said, nodding slowly. "I just wish there was something we could do to help."

"Me too," he answered, his blue eyes sympathetic. "I'll go talk to him, and see what made him upset."

* * *

A few minutes later, Jay walked into the ninjas' bedroom. Sure enough, he found the master of fire lying on his bed, lost in thought as he stared at the ceiling.

"Thought I'd find you here," the blue ninja said.

Kai glanced down from his bunk and saw his teammate enter the room.

"What's up?" he asked plainly, his gaze returning to the ceiling.

Jay immediately sensed his brother's apathetic mood and knew something was wrong.

"Did you talk to Sam?" he asked.

"Yeah, sort of," Kai answered, sighing. "I tried, Jay. When I went to go talk to her, apparently she wanted to tell me something, too."

"Oh," Jay remarked, caught a bit off guard by the information. "What did she wanna tell you?"

The red ninja shut his eyes, almost as if the truth was too painful to say out loud.

"She told me that she just wanted to be friends. Nothing more."

"Really?" The blue ninja was surprised that, when all the signs were there that she had feelings for him, she would tell him she wanted nothing more than friendship.

Kai's expression hardened. "Really."

Jay bit his lip nervously. Things had not gone according to plan, that was for sure.

"What did you say when she told you?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything," the red ninja replied. "Just that I was looking forward to the movie."

"Did you tell her how you felt?"

Kai shook his head. "How could I? It wouldn't have made a difference."

Jay shrugged. "It might have."

He shook his head again, more forcefully this time. "No, I couldn't have told her. It was clear that she just wants to be friends with me, and I'll just have to accept that."

A long silence passed between the two friends, allowing the disappointing reality to sink in.

"I'm sorry, buddy," the blue ninja finally said, gazing up at his teammate with sympathy. It was almost a loss for him as well, considering he had been the one that had advocated for their relationship from the beginning.

Kai waved his friend's condolences aside. "It's alright, Jay," he said. "If Lloyd makes her happy, then that's all I care about."

Though the blue ninja knew his brother's words were noble, he knew that they were far from the truth. However, there was nothing the master of lightning could do to change the situation. What had started as something romantic between Kai and Sam had now ended as something strictly platonic between them, and Jay was powerless to alter that reality. No matter how much he believed Sam belonged with Kai, her choice of a love interest was ultimately her decision, and that decision had been made.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, Lloyd had just finished his training session with Cole and was about to head into the bedroom to shower when he overheard the conversation going on between his two teammates. Instead of walking in on them and risk putting an end to the conversation, he quickly hid just outside the door, curious as to what the pair was talking about.

"_She told me that she just wanted to be friends…"_

Normally Lloyd wouldn't have felt so compelled to eavesdrop, but he had heard enough to know they were talking about Sam.

"_If Lloyd makes her happy, then that's all I care about."_

Hearing those words made the young ninja freeze.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt in his chest, the defeat in his brother's voice evoking unwanted feelings of sympathy towards the red ninja.

Kai had been the one to devalue his and Sam's relationship by seeking out Skylor, someone with whom his teammate hadn't been in contact for over a year, and then basically rubbing it in Sam's face that he had been in a relationship before he and Sam were ever a couple. He had used the redhead as a tool to manipulate the college student, which had been disrespectful toward both of the young women.

Yet, ever since Skylor had broken his heart, his brother had changed. Not only had the master of fire started acting kinder towards Sam, but he had lost some of the self-absorption that had once possessed him.

Standing behind the door, Lloyd realized this, as he overheard the statements of a milder, more selfless Kai, as opposed to the hotheaded, temperamental Kai that had exploded with rage upon discovering he and Sam had become an item while he been trying to get Skylor back.

And it seemed to Lloyd that, whether he admitted it or not, Kai genuinely cared about Sam's happiness. It was no longer about one-upping a teammate anymore but instead a real concern about Sam's feelings, which were hanging delicately in the balance.

The blond ninja deduced that maybe Sam had spoken with Kai earlier, which is why he was currently upset. What had prompted her to do so in the first place was a mystery to him, but it was flattering to his ego to think that she would do that for him.

Maybe he would take her out tonight after dinner, just as a nice gesture to honor their relationship. It must've been stressful for her to confront him about it, which might have explained why she had seemed anxious at breakfast earlier that morning. Maybe then he would find out why she had talked to Kai.

Speaking of the red ninja, part of the reason why Lloyd wanted to leave the Bounty for a while was that he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to stay in the same room with his brown-haired teammate after hearing their conversation. Of course, Kai would be okay eventually, but he didn't think that his brother was one to give up so easily, which bothered him slightly.

Between his brother and Sam, the green ninja couldn't help but feel stuck in the middle. He could only hope that as time passed, Kai would get over Sam, then things could continue on as normal.

That way, Lloyd wouldn't feel so guilty.

* * *

**The tables have turned a bit, haven't they? So Lloyd feels partly responsible for Kai's unhappiness...how do think he'll handle it? I sense the story will be coming to a close soon. I'm not sure when I'll finish it, but I'm currently working on the next chapter, so stay tuned! Thank you all so much for reading my story, and happy new year to all!**


	97. Chapter 97

"This was good, Nya," Cole said as he pushed his empty plate of chicken aside. "I'm stuffed."

Nya smiled. "I'm glad you liked it, Cole," she answered sweetly. "But I did have some help." Next to her, she glanced at Jay, who beamed upon being acknowledged by his girlfriend.

"Eh, it was no biggie," he said, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. "Anything to help you."

The samurai gave him an endearing smile before returning to her meal, as Jay continued to gaze at her adoringly.

Cole rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, knowing that his teammate was always willing to kiss up to her.

Zane and the elders suppressed a smirk, watching the couple interact. However, the others, Lloyd, Kai and Sam were too caught up in their own thoughts to notice the amusement ensuing at the table.

Lloyd glanced over at Sam, who sat quietly as she finished up her meal. Across from her, Kai was doing the same-twirling his fork around and poking at his chicken in a disinterested manner.

A small surge of guilt swelled inside the green ninja, seeing his teammate and his girlfriend were not speaking to one another, even though the two were technically friends now.

As he had decided earlier, he was still planning to ask Sam to go out with him, with the intention of finding out exactly what had happened between the former couple this afternoon.

"Dinner was very good, Nya," Sensei said, nodding at the dark-haired girl in approval. "I think I will retire to my room for the evening."

The martial arts teacher stood up from his seat to put his dishes away, before disappearing into the hall.

Misako smiled as she watched him leave. He worked so hard to take care of his pupils, including his nephew. She was glad that Lloyd had been taken in by such a nice group of people.

The archaeologist glanced over at her son, who was constantly sneaking peeks at Sam. She could sense that he was agitated. Even though her conversation with him the other night had not gone so well, she knew that he was probably having doubts about his relationship. It was easy to tell that Sam and Kai still had feelings for another, except for tonight. Tonight, the former couple had been silent since they had sat down to dinner, which struck Misako odd, considering that in the last few days, Kai had gone to extreme efforts to get the blonde girl's attention. Something was off, and she could sense that Lloyd was feeling the same way.

Lloyd sensed that his mother was watching him. Things had been rather uncomfortable since he had blown up at her the other night. Inside, he felt bad about raising his voice at her for questioning his relationship with Sam, but that was only because, deep down, he had been questioning it himself. He supposed he had been defensive about it because, at the time, he had wanted him and Sam's relationship to work out more than anything, but even he was beginning to question its worth, since it only had been causing pain for his brother, and his brother's pain was in turn affecting his own relationship with Sam. And it was his fault.

"I'm going to turn in for the night as well," Misako finally said, getting up from her seat.

Lloyd met his mother's gaze and gave her a brief nod, acknowledging her remark. "Goodnight, Mom," he said, forcing himself to smile.

To his surprise, she returned the smile, not a twinkle of disappointment remaining in her aged green eyes. "Goodnight, son," she replied, before turning to the rest of the young people.

"'Night, Misako," everyone else echoed, except for Kai, who was still absent-mindedly playing with his fork, too absorbed in his own thoughts to hear her.

"Goodnight, ninja," she answered. And with that, she disappeared into the hall, ready to retire to the guest room after a long day of research.

After the older woman had left, the ninja and Nya glanced at one another, unsure of what they were going to do next.

"I guess we should get the kitchen cleaned up then," the samurai said, examining the dirty dishes that had stacked up near the sink, as well as the ones that remained on the table.

"I'll do the dishes!" Jay volunteered, his hand shooting up in the air.

In a flash, the blue ninja got up from his seat and began to collect the plates off the table.

Lloyd rolled his eyes, knowing that the only time his teammate would appear useful was when Nya was present.

He glanced to his right and saw Sam rising from her chair, preparing to pitch in and help in the clearing of the table. Taking her dishes, she began to walk in the direction of the sink.

Lloyd's eyes flickered over to Kai, who remained seated, continuing to stare at his meal apathetically. He saw him sneak a glance at Sam, before looking back down at his plate and sighing.

As Sam returned to the table to gather more dishes, Lloyd took the opportunity to pull her aside.

"Hey, Sam," he said, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a little while. Go get some ice cream, maybe?"

The blonde girl, for the first time since he had seen her that evening, broke into a small smile. "Sure, Lloyd," she said. "I could use some fresh air."

* * *

"And then the guys decided that they needed to get jobs in order to pay for the expensive apartment they bought," Lloyd explained as he took another bite of his ice cream. "Except they almost got me kidnapped in the process."

In the cool building of Freddy's Ice Cream Parlor, Lloyd was eagerly telling Sam about all the adventures he had had in his younger years with his teammates. Of course, he was glad that since he had aged, he was stronger and was now equally included in the team's activities, but he couldn't help but fondly look back on his childhood memories. It had been a much simpler time, that was for sure.

"And then there was the time when Sensei Wu asked me to get the ninja to argue," he said. "I made Cole mad at Jay, Jay mad at Zane, Zane mad at...Kai-" he paused, realizing who he was referring to. "Then Kai mad at Cole."

Sam laughed as Lloyd relayed the tale, however, he had noticed that her eyes had dimmed slightly at the mention of the red ninja.

"That's funny," she remarked. "I can't even picture you as a kid, Lloyd. You seem so grown up."

"Well, a lot has happened to me since I left Darkly's," he said, his face hardening at the thought of his old school, "thanks to having the responsibilities of the green ninja."

"What did your parents think when they found out you were the green ninja?" she asked curiously.

"Apparently my mom knew I was the chosen one," Lloyd answered, shrugging. "I don't know how, but she did. Before I was even born, actually. But my father, on the other hand, did not take it it so well, and neither did I, knowing that I would have to fight him."

Sam nodded, her eyes sympathetic. "That would be rough," she said, "for you and for him."

"Well, it's all over now," Lloyd replied, waving her words of empathy aside. "What matters now is that Ninjago is safe, and I intend to keep it that way."

While a comfortable silence fell amongst them, Sam noticed that Lloyd appeared to be more anxious than usual, as his eyes constantly shifted between his ice cream and her. She didn't know what it was, but he seemed distracted.

The clearing of the green ninja's throat broke her from her train of thought.

"Listen, Sam," Lloyd said, his gaze returning to the blonde's. "I couldn't help but overhear Jay and Kai talking earlier today."

At the mention of the red ninja and his best friend, Sam's ears immediately perked up. "What do you mean?" she asked. Was it something related to her? Surely Lloyd wouldn't have bothered to tell her if she had not been involved in their conversation.

"It's just - I was wondering if you and Kai talked earlier."

He felt like he was treading on dangerous water, knowing that it wasn't really his business to eavesdrop on what was clearly a private conversation, and he was nervous as to how she would react to him bringing up the subject.

Sam's blue eyes darkened for a moment as she recalled the interaction with Kai earlier that afternoon.

"I did talk to him," she answered. "Why do you ask?"

Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I don't know...it's just that he seemed like something's been eating at him today," he responded. "I thought it might have had something to do with you, considering you and him have a past, and your name did come up in the conversation -"

"He mentioned me?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah. I figured the reason was that you guys were trying to rekindle your friendship, and the message kind of got messed up along the way."

"All I said was that I wanted to be friends with him," she said. "I didn't know where I stood with him, so I thought I should make it clear where he stood with me."

"So you told him upfront that you just wanted to be friends," Lloyd repeated. "Why?"

The blonde girl sighed. "Because of us," she admitted. "I didn't want some weird murky thing happening between us where you weren't sure how I felt, and I didn't want you guys to fight anymore," she confessed. "I like you, Lloyd, and I didn't want him to come between us, or me to come between you two."

Silence passed as Lloyd struggled to process what she had said.

"You mean _I _was the reason you told him?" he confirmed, hardly believing what he was hearing."

Sam nodded. "You're a good guy, Lloyd," she said. "You deserve just as much."

"I do?" he echoed. He could feel the guilt building up inside of him again, just like earlier today when he had heard Kai say that Sam should be with him.

Sam nodded once more. "It wouldn't be fair to you," she said. "I had to set boundaries."

"Oh, wow," he mumbled, glancing down at the table. "It was nice of you to do that for me."

He glanced back up at her and their eyes met, her blue irises full of question.

At that moment, he considered telling her that maybe he was not so deserving of her previous actions, since they seemed to have affected both his brother and her. Sam had been painfully quiet at dinner, as well as Kai, and he wasn't sure that he wanted that tension every time the three of them were in the same room together, which of course would happen often, as long as Sam remained on the Bounty.

However, in his moment of confusion, Lloyd could not confess that he did _not_ want her to distance herself from Kai. Her actions made him feel like he had imposed his wishes on her, which was neither noble nor gentleman-like, and he carried a deeper fear that it would foster future resentment from her and from his red teammate. But in his stupor, the green ninja could not reveal that he had been mistaken about Kai and Sam's relationship. Part of it was his own selfishness - he did not want to ruin what he had worked so hard to achieve. In addition, he did not want to make her feel bad after she had gone to all the trouble to separate herself from the fire ninja.

"What's wrong?" Sam asked, furrowing her brows in concern at the green ninja's lack of response.

The sound of her voice brought Lloyd back down to earth. "N-nothing," he answered, shaking his head free of unwanted thoughts. "It's just that I enjoy spending time with you."

He forced himself to smile, hoping to rid his face of the troubled expression he may have displayed by replacing it with a joyful look.

Sam returned the smile. She detected that there was still something on his mind, but did not conclude that there was something wrong with his behavior. He was probably tired from training all day in the heat. He may have acted distracted, but his words were no less meaningful.

"I'm glad I chose you," she said, her blue eyes twinkling at him.

"Me too," Lloyd croaked, unable to suppress the guilt that was boiling underneath the surface. He could've sworn he was going to be sick with all the anxiety he was feeling.

This was it. He could no longer go on like this, watching two people he cared about drift apart in front of him, knowing that it was his fault. He was supposed to be building a team and making it stronger, not further tearing it apart. As the green ninja, it was his job to strengthen the team, and to set a good example - to be a symbol of honor, respect, integrity. And right now, he represented none of those things.

Since this afternoon, the image of his brother drowning in misery on his bed was etched into his skull. Not to mention the words of the sorrowful fire ninja, which had struck him deeply:

"_She told me that she just wanted to be friends. Nothing more."_

If anyone deserved someone to love, it was Kai. He had lost both his parents, and was left alone to take care of his sister and himself, working in father's blacksmith shop, trying to make a living in order to survive and put food on the table. Needless to say, he was forced to grow up.

On the other hand, while Lloyd himself did not exactly have much of a childhood, at least he still had one of parents, his uncle, a samurai sister, and four older ninja brothers to look after him. And while his siblings weren't blood-related to him, they were still family. Even Kai was family. And from a young age, Lloyd had been taught by his uncle to never turn your back on family.

_Okay, that's it,_ he thought. _I can't go through with this._

He had to talk to Kai. He needed to make things right again.


	98. Chapter 98

When Lloyd and Sam returned to the Bounty, they entered the living room area to find the rest of the ninja, plus Nya, sitting in front of the television. Nya and Zane were hanging out on the couch while they watched Jay and Cole battling one another in a video game as they sat on the floor, their eyes glued to the screen.

"Hey guys," Nya said, looking up to see the couple walk into the room.

"Hey," Lloyd answered, giving her a small wave. Immediately, the samurai sensed something was off with him. For someone who had just been on a date with his girlfriend, he didn't sound all that invigorated.

"Where'd you guys go?" she asked curiously. She was trying to pry without actually seeming like she was trying to read the green ninja's mind.

Lloyd's eyes slowly shifted from her to Sam before he responded. "Nowhere special," he replied, shrugging. "Just got some ice cream at Freddy's."

The mention of ice cream instantly made Cole's ears perk up, even while he was playing the game.

"Hey, how come nobody invites me to get ice cream?" he complained. This was the second time one of his brothers had gone out with Sam to get ice cream without telling him.

"It's because you always tell people you want cake," Jay piped up from next to him.

Ignoring his teammates' antics, Lloyd scanned the room and saw no sign of the red ninja.

"Where's Kai?" he asked, though he could probably guess where his brother was.

"I believe he is in his room," Zane answered. "It may be my imagination, but he seems quite subdued."

Lloyd frowned. He knew why Kai had been acting, as the nindroid had put it, subdued since this afternoon.

Sam gazed at Zane worriedly. She had sensed that Kai had been disappointed earlier, but now she was starting to think that she had been the reason for his glum mood.

"I sense there is a problem between you two," the titanium ninja finally said, eyeing the couple with interest.

Nya, as well as Jay and Cole glanced up, watching the couple expectantly, awaiting an answer.

Lloyd met the inquiring faces of his family and paused, before firmly shaking his head.

"Nope, no problem," he said. "I just need to go…" He averted his eyes, trying to come up with a good excuse. "...freshen up."

To his relief, Jay and Cole shrugged, then returned their attentions to the television screen. However, both Nya and Zane raised a brow suspiciously. It was almost everyone's bedtime, yet Lloyd was still concerned with his appearance?

Noticing their doubtful expressions, Lloyd nervously tugged on the collar of his shirt as he sauntered over to the hallway.

"Be right back, Sam," he said quickly, flashing the blonde an encouraging look before disappearing into the hall.

* * *

"Gosh, that was close," Lloyd muttered to himself as he wiped the perspiration from his head with his forearm.

Since the ice cream shop, he had been unusually sweaty, considering he was done with any intense exercise for the day. Was it always this hot on the Bounty?

_Must be the air conditioner malfunctioning again, _he thought.

However, deep down, he knew this was not the case, as he showed other symptoms of anxiety, such as the pounding of his heart as well as the violent shaking of his hands.

Physical awareness aside, Lloyd knew he needed to speak with Kai. The guilt that had been churning inside of him since he had befriended Sam was now hitting him all at once, resulting in a massive panic attack.

With some hesitancy, Lloyd approached the ninjas' bedroom, and saw his teammate in the same position as he had found him before: lying on his bed and staring longingly at the ceiling, in complete remorse.

Lloyd paused. If he was being honest with himself, he had to admit he was nervous about confronting Kai, but he knew it was the right thing to do. And the right thing was never easy.

Seeing that Kai still hadn't noticed him standing in the doorway, Lloyd took a deep breath and lightly knocked on the door frame, causing the red ninja to look up.

"Hey," he stated plainly before glancing back up at the ceiling.

"Hey," Lloyd answered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he entered the room. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

That was when he noticed Kai was playing a lonely game of catch with himself.

"What about?" the spiky-haired ninja asked, tossing a green tennis ball up in the air.

Lloyd's gaze rested on the ground. "It's about Sam," he mumbled.

"What about her?" Kai asked, frowning in confusion. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Lloyd reassured him, Kai's reaction startling him slightly. "I wanted to talk to you...about her."

Kai's gaze returned to the ceiling. "What's there to say?"

Lloyd sighed, preparing himself for what he was about to tell his teammate. Yep, it certainly wasn't easy.

"Look, I may not be the most mature, or insightful person in the world - remember I went from nine to seventeen pretty quickly," he said, chuckling nervously. "But I know enough to say this…"

"...I can't be with her."

His words caused to Kai sit up abruptly. "What do you mean you can't be with her?" he demanded, staring directly into his teammate's eyes.

Despite his brother's piercing gaze, Lloyd forced himself to look at the older ninja. "I-I made a mistake, Kai," he said. "It wasn't right of me to take her from you."

He saw the pain flicker in the red ninja's brown irises as he relived the moment he had lost her. "You didn't take her from me, Lloyd. She _chose_ to be with you."

"No, Kai, I did," the green ninja stated firmly, raising his voice in the process. "I was so focused on proving that I was better match for her that it became a competition," he explained. "I got so caught up in the game and winning her over that I didn't think about the consequences."

Kai shrugged, unsure of the so-called 'consequences' his teammate was referring to. "Turned out pretty well if you ask me," he remarked casually, though Lloyd could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"No, not well," Lloyd retorted. "The opposite, actually."

"What are you talking about?" Kai demanded, irritation growing more apparent in his voice. "You're with her now, Lloyd. Isn't that you wanted?"

"Not if the relationship comes between me and you," Lloyd shot back.

The world seemed to fall silent as Lloyd confessed what had been on his mind all along. "I ended up going too far, and now I realize how much it's hurt you," he spoke quietly. "I like Sam, I really do. But we could never be together. Not at the cost of losing my brother, and my friend."

Kai processed the green ninja's words as he spoke, completely shocked at what he was hearing.

"What are you saying then?" he finally asked. "Are you breaking up with her?"

Lloyd nodded. "I am because I know she deserves someone better than me."

Kai frowned, clearly confused about what his younger teammate meant.

Lloyd clarified. "Someone like you, Kai."

The words sounded distant in the red ninja's ears as he started to comprehend what his brother was getting at.

"Me?" he asked, his eyes widening. "You think I deserve her?"

Lloyd nodded once more. "I know that you've done some things you aren't very proud of," he said, recalling his uncle's words. "But that doesn't mean that you don't deserve a second chance. Nobody's perfect, Kai, including me."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "Like I said, I made a mistake. I was only thinking about myself and what I wanted. Not what's best for the team."

The older ninja continued to watch his younger teammate intently, not saying a word. He was no longer suspicious of Lloyd's intentions, rather, he was trying to figure out Lloyd's reason for confronting him.

"It's just...what made you change your mind?" he asked. The way his teammate had been acting lately certainly was not the behavior of someone who was feeling guilty.

Lloyd glanced down at the floor. "When you said that you didn't care as long as she was happy."

A look of surprise flashed across Kai's face, which then quickly transformed into a frown, as he was unable to recall when he had ever even mentioned Sam to his green-clad teammate.

"I never said-"

"I heard you tell Jay that," Lloyd finished. "I eavesdropped, and I'm sorry. But when you said that, it made me realize that I'm not really ready for a relationship just yet," he explained. "There's still things about...love that I don't understand, but what I do know is that it can't be overridden, and that's where Sam was mistaken."

"What do you mean?" Kai asked, tilting his head curiously. He felt his initial irritation with his younger teammate slowly starting to dissipate, as thoughts of Sam began to overtake his subconsciousness.

"What I mean is -" Lloyd closed his eyes, almost as if he could visualize the answer in his mind. "- we can choose who we love, but that doesn't make us forget the ones we used to care about. A part of them will be with us no matter what," he said. "Sam wanted to forget about you, and by being with me she thought that maybe she could erase what she had with you and start over, except that she can't let go."

The green ninja's eyes then opened, revealing a look of disappointment.

"I see the way she looks at you, Kai," he said, a tinge of regret to voice. "And she has never looked at me quite the same way."

"Huh?" the red ninja was taken aback by his statement. Like a thousand-ton brick, it hit him.

Lloyd had been having doubts about Sam's feelings all along.

"Is that why you were mad when I'd talk to her?" he asked. "Does she still have feelings for me?"

Lloyd nodded.

"Then why did she tell me she just wanted to be friends?"

He shrugged. "For me, I guess. She didn't want things to be awkward."

Kai scoffed. "And she thought that talking to me would make it _less_ awkward?"

Lloyd let out a half-hearted chuckle."You know what she meant," he said. "In her defense, she didn't know where she stood with you, which was why she thought she needed to set boundaries in the first place."

The red ninja pondered his brother's words for a moment. He could respect the fact that the reason Sam had spoken to him earlier was so that they could remain platonic, which meant that she still had wanted to continue some sort of relationship with him. However, that didn't necessarily mean that she would be willing to get back together with him if Lloyd followed through with his plan.

"That doesn't mean she's going to take me back, if you break up with her," Kai said, staring mournfully at the floor. "I already blew it."

"Not necessarily," Lloyd said, causing Kai to look back up at his green-clad teammate. "Every single time we're together, your name comes up at least once in the conversation. She can't stop talking about you," he said, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips.

He'd be lying if he said that saying those words out loud did not promote an ache in his chest, but to see his brother's face light up was worth it.

"Really?" Kai asked, his eyes widening. Little did the red ninja realize that a glimmer of hope had been restored in him, and that it was written visibly on face.

"Yeah," Lloyd answered, noticing his brother's glowing expression. "Tell me that doesn't mean she thinks about you," he said. "You're important to her."

"Wow," Kai finally breathed, running a hand through his hair. "Even after all I've done, she still likes me?"

"I know! Hard to believe, isn't it?" Lloyd teased, smiling. "Guess that means destiny doesn't think it's over just yet."

After relishing in the moment, Kai's face suddenly darkened as a thought occurred to him.

"How am I going to make it up to her?" he asked, his expression transforming from one of happiness to one of worry.

Lloyd noticed his look of concern. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm gonna talk to her, and I promise I will make things right."

Sensing the conversation has come to a close, he turned his body to leave, but not without giving the red ninja one last glance.

"And again, I'm sorry," he added, looking behind him.

Still in space, it took Kai a second to acknowledge his words before giving him a brief nod, acknowledging the younger ninja's apology. He wasn't ready to tell Lloyd he had forgiven him just yet, but he knew he would eventually.

After giving Kai one final look, Lloyd headed out of the room to find Sam, who was waiting for him in the living room, along with the others.

He didn't know how or when he was going to confront her, but decided that he would wait until tomorrow to break the news to her.

He just hoped that everything would work out.

* * *

**So Lloyd has finally come to terms with the fact that Sam should be with Kai. Turns out, he realized that he cannot change other peoples' destiny, and that his relationship with Kai was the most important thing, above all else. Isn't that sweet? ;) Do you think he'll be able to convince Sam to be with Kai? Stay tuned to find out! Hope everyone has had a good new year so far!**


	99. Chapter 99

Sam woke up the next morning, wide awake after a long night. While she had gotten an adequate amount of sleep, the vivid dreams she had experienced were enough to make her feel like she hadn't gotten as much rest as she did in actuality.

She had dreamt about him again.

In the past week or so, her former high school boyfriend had made his unwelcome appearance in several of her dreams, all of them with the very same outcome:

Leaving her with a broken heart.

At first, Jake had seemed like a good guy. His witty charm and youthful demeanor were the two main things that had attracted her from the beginning. The laughter, the butterflies, the feeling of companionship that she had always craved drew her to him, only to find out that it had been a facade.

Behind his baby blue eyes, he had been a liar, a manipulator, a narcissist - someone who only cared about himself. It took her at least six months to see that the boy she had been emotionally invested in was a fraud.

He had told her he liked her. Only for her to find out he had been cheating on a girl three years younger, who was probably too naive to realize what she was getting into.

It had disgusted her enough for her to end the relationship, causing the once-charming boy to turn cold. Any trace of playful innocence and warmth was gone instantly.

Any sort of torch she had once held for him - gone.

And that's when she knew that she had to move on.

It had taken at least nine months for her to get over him, despite the fact that they were romantically involved for a very short period of time. She had gone to the high school prom with him, and that was the biggest "date" she ever had with him.

It was the idea of being so sure of who he was, then to have the image shatter so suddenly, that had broken her the most.

Kind of like how she had felt when Skylor showed up, for Kai to retaliate the way he had done.

Of course, he had a right to choose to remain friends with his former love interest and to spend time with her. Except it was his intent that had bothered her. To trust he wouldn't hurt her, only for him to do just that.

Sitting up in bed, she shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking such negative thoughts, not after she and Lloyd had had such a nice time yesterday evening.

He may have reminded her of Jake, but he wasn't. Kai wasn't either. They were ninja, dedicated to helping others. Selfless. Courageous. Respectful.

Smiling to herself, Sam threw the covers off of her and hopped out of bed, preparing for the day ahead.

Going into the bathroom, she passed by her reflection, and chuckled slightly at the rat's nest that had accumulated in her hair overnight.

"I should probably fix that."

As she reached for her brush, she took a moment to study herself.

She had changed so much as a person since high school. Her appearance was the same, except her face was brighter, more alive. Her blue eyes glittered. Standing there, she felt happiness.

_I'm Lloyd's girlfriend now, _she thought firmly as she admired her reflection. Jake could no longer hurt her.

After brushing out the remaining tangles and brushing her teeth, she jumped into the shower, eager to show up to breakfast to see her family. Also, she wanted to see if Kai was okay.

* * *

After getting ready, Sam headed to the kitchen to join the others for their morning meal.

"Hey, Sam," the ninja greeted her as they enjoyed a simple but satisfying breakfast of Frosted Oats.

"Hey," she answered.

Her eyes wandered over to Kai, who glanced down at his cereal.

"Hey, Kai," she said, attempting to sound cheerful.

The red ninja looked up sheepishly, but nonetheless, smiled back at her and returned the greeting.

"Hey, Sam," he answered. His voice was soft, but was not ridden with sadness, which she thought was a good sign.

She walked over to the right side of the table and plopped down next to Lloyd.

"Hey, Lloyd," she said, smiling.

"Hey."

He flashed her a grin, but did not provide any additional commentary. She did notice, however, that he was eating rather quickly.

"Ready for training today?" she asked, hoping to initiate some sort of conversation.

"Ha, I'm more than ready," he teased, earning several raised eyebrows from his teammates, who picked up on his sarcasm.

"Oh, yeah, can't wait to go out in the searing heat and burn my -" Jay started.

"I'm _eating_!" Cole interrupted, glaring at his blue teammate. "Ever heard of table manners?"

"Ever heard of chewing your food _before_ swallowing it?" Jay retorted.

Sam began to tune the noise out as Cole and Jay began to bicker about nothing.

"Can't wait to see the movie tomorrow," she said, turning to Kai, who also was beginning to drown out his brothers' arguing.

Kai glanced up from his cereal and nodded. "Me, too," he said, giving her a small smile.

"What movie were you guys going to see?" Lloyd asked curiously, eyeing the two.

"Uh, the LEGO Batman Movie," Kai answered.

The green ninja nodded, except Sam noticed that his gaze lingered a little longer on his red teammate before returning to his cereal.

She then glanced at Kai, who appeared to be in his own world as he took another bite of cereal.

Call her crazy, but it seemed like she was missing something.

"Ah, I think I'm gonna freshen up before training starts," Cole said, standing up from his seat.

As the earth ninja disappeared into the hall, Zane studied him.

"It appears that Cole has been distant lately," he observed, noticing the extra bounce in his teammate's strides as he vanished.

Kai and Lloyd shrugged. As selfish as it sounded, they had been too caught up in their own love problems to detect that anything was off with their black-clad teammate.

On the other hand, Jay couldn't help but smirk, knowing fully well what was eating at the earth ninja.

"It's cause he's in looove," he teased, dragging the L-word out on purpose.

The rest of the ninja rolled their eyes at their teammate's remark, but none of them could suppress their smiles, knowing how smitten Cole was with a certain tall brunette.

Sam smiled as well. The start of the new school year at Ninjago University was still a month and a half away, so if the earth ninja was keen on seeing Brooke again, he'd probably have to wait a little while longer, which no doubt was torture to him.

As everyone else began to clear the table and put their dishes away in the sink, she observed Lloyd and Kai, who shared a glance as they each set their empty bowls on the counter.

She was concerned that maybe some tension remained between the green ninja and the red ninja, even though she had spoken to both of them about her intentions, but it occurred to her that maybe that had only emphasized the problem.

Sam sighed. She really didn't want them fighting any more. Maybe she had made a mistake. She hadn't felt forced to choose either one of them, but it seemed that, while she liked Lloyd, their relationship was causing more problems than she had initially thought.

"Hey, Sam," a voice said, breaking her from her thoughts.

She turned her head to see Lloyd approach her.

"Have a good day at work," he said, smiling.

"Thanks," she replied, returning the grin.

While his gesture was friendly, she couldn't help but notice that his eyes weren't as lit up, like he was holding out on something.

Behind him, she could see that Kai was hanging around, watching her. He almost looked sheepish, as if he was anxious about something.

She mentally waved her thoughts aside, realizing that the conclusions she was drawing weren't very productive. She was being paranoid. She figured it must've been her dreams last night that were getting to her.

Shaking her doubts aside, she exchanged goodbyes with her friends before she returned to her room to finish getting ready.

As she was examining her work attire in the mirror, she heard a rustling outside her and Nya's bedroom door. Looking at the crack under the door, she saw a small piece of paper, as if someone had slipped it underneath while she had been distracted.

Raising a brow curiously, she stooped down to pick it up. In decent, but scribbled handwriting, she read:

_Meet me on the deck after training. _

_~ Lloyd_

Her heart slightly jumped as she read the note. What did Lloyd want to see her about?

One thing was for sure: until she met with him, it was going to be on her mind the entire day.

* * *

**What do you guys think Lloyd wants to talk to her about? Who knows...? XD Anyways, hope you guys are still enjoying the story. And don't worry, I sense Kai and Sam will be together real soon...**


	100. Chapter 100

As she had expected, Sam had not been able to get her mind off of Lloyd's note.

Even while she had been working, questions of what he wanted to talk to her about had crept into her thoughts multiple times. It could've just been a date for all she knew. However, her imagination couldn't help but wonder if it was even a bigger surprise that awaited her. A picnic? A gift of some sort?

As her mind began to churn with different possibilities, it was safe to say that she could hardly contain her excitement.

After the work day had ended, she quickly bid Mr. Borg farewell before making a hasty exit. She didn't want to be late to meet the green ninja, and she wanted to freshen up before she met him on the deck.

Therefore, when she got home, she headed straight to her room to change out of her work clothes and put on something more comfortable. She opted for a nice t-shirt and jeans, an ensemble which was casual but presentable.

Around 4:30, she emerged from her room to find Jay, Cole and Zane gathered in the kitchen, having a snack after their long day of training. She noticed that Kai was not present.

"Ah, look who it is," Jay said, flashing a friendly smile as the blonde entered the room.

"Hey, guys," she said, glancing around the kitchen area. "Is Lloyd around?"

The three ninja nodded. "Yeah, he's outside on the deck," Cole answered, taking a bite of his sandwich. "Said he wanted to talk to you."

"I believe he said it was important," Zane added, reading the college student's mind. "I suggest you should confront him, as it sounded urgent."

"Thanks, Zane," Sam answered, freeing herself from her thoughts long enough to acknowledge the ice ninja's remark.

Her initial feelings of excitement about this afternoon's encounter were now being replaced with increasing anxiety. In her experience, the term "urgent" had a negative connotation.

"I'll go talk to him," she said, giving the ninja a brief nod before she headed out to the deck.

As expected, Lloyd was standing alone, staring out at the scenery, admiring the city in the not-too-far distance.

Hearing the door to the deck open, he turned to see Sam approach him, the hesitancy in her steps indicating his teammates had told her that he wanted to talk to her.

"Hey," he said as she walked over to him.

"Hey," she answered. "The others said you wanted to talk."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah," he sighed. "Why don't we sit down?"

He motioned for her to sit down on the deck floor next to him as he sat down himself. Sam followed his example and positioned herself next to him so that they were sitting cross-legged, side-by-side.

"I wanted to talk to you...about us," Lloyd said, his head turning to face her.

Sam looked up from the ground and met his gaze. The tone of his voice indicated that it was likely going to be a serious conversation, and she could practically feel the nervous knot in her stomach tighten upon hearing him speak.

"W-what about?" she asked.

Lloyd paused, glancing away for a brief second to gather his thoughts before his eyes returned to her.

"I think we should stop seeing each other," he blurted out, spitting out the words as if he was ripping off a bandaid.

A deafening silence followed as Sam took a moment to process what he had said.

"You do?" she echoed. That certainly hadn't been the surprise she had originally been expecting.

Lloyd nodded slowly. "Yes," he answered. "But not because of you."

Puzzled by his statement, she continued to watch him expectantly, waiting for him to continue.

"It's because of Kai."

"Kai?" she repeated, furrowing her brows in confusion. "I thought you guys were on good terms now."

"We are," Lloyd replied. "Which is why I need to do this."

Sam frowned. The sudden turn of events in the past couple minutes made her question what had prompted him to come to this decision. "If this is about what I said to Kai yesterday -"

"It's not," the green finished, shaking his head. "I'm not questioning your loyalty."

"Then what is it?" she asked curiously. She wasn't intending to pry, but she truly wanted to know the reason behind his actions.

Lloyd paused. Now was the time to reveal the truth. He wasn't sure how she would take it, but it was the only reason she would ever consider getting back together with the red ninja again. He would give her the information, but it was up to her to decide what she would do with it.

He had made a promise to his teammate that he would do everything in his power to fix it, and he had meant it.

"You know how last night I told you I heard Kai and Jay talking earlier?"

Sam nodded.

"Well, I never told you _exactly_ what they were talking about."

"You said they mentioned me," she said, trying to follow what he was getting at.

Just then, it dawned on her that she had known that they were talking about her, but she had been so focused on Lloyd that she hadn't bothered to ask _why _they had been talking about her.

"Yeah, and Kai did tell Jay that you talked to him," Lloyd replied. "But what I _didn't_ tell you was that Kai was pretty upset about what you told him."

A pang of guilt shot through Sam's chest as she remembered how quiet the red ninja had been last night.

"He was?" she asked. "All I told him was that I wanted to be friends."

"I know," Lloyd answered. "But it upset him. Mainly because he doesn't think of you as just a friend."

He met Sam's gaze, and based on the look in eyes, she was finally beginning to understand what was going on.

"He still has feelings for me."

Lloyd nodded. "He was going to tell you when he was ready," he explained. "My guess is, though, that you told him you wanted to be friends before he could say anything."

_So that's what Kai wanted to talk to me about,_ Sam thought, recalling yesterday when they had bumped into one another.

Suddenly, she felt sort of guilty. Here, he had been trying to confront her about his feelings, yet her suggestion to be friends had shut him down entirely.

"I know that it's not an excuse for what he's done," Lloyd said, noticing the pained expression on her face. "But you're still important to him. The last thing I heard him say was that he didn't care who you were with, as long as you were happy."

"He said that?" Sam asked.

"He did," Lloyd answered. The small smile teasing the corner of his lips indicated that he was as pleasantly surprised as she was to hear Kai in one of his more humble moments.

Sam took a moment to process what the green ninja had said, as it was a lot to take in. "Wow, I just can't believe it," she breathed, her eyes moistening at the fact that Kai cared so much for her well being, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness.

"You gotta hand it to the guy," Lloyd said, reading her mind. "Kai may be self-absorbed sometimes, but when it comes to people he cares about, he's the best friend a guy - or girl - could have."

"I suppose he is," Sam said, smiling at the ground as she wiped a loose tear from her eye. "B-but I don't want to lose you as a friend either."

"You won't, Sam," Lloyd reassured her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'll always be there for you. I just think that we should stop seeing each other the way we are now, because you and Kai have something special. It's your decision whether you should get back with him, but I'm not going to get in the way of you two any more. You're both too important to me to lose as friends. Kai and I may be on good terms now, but that doesn't mean that I'm right for you."

A long pause ensued as Sam digested his words. Lloyd was right about many things, except the fact that he was unworthy of her affection.

"Just to be fair, Lloyd, I think you're pretty great," she finally said, glancing back up at him. "And there's someone out there who deserves you, if that someone isn't me."

The green ninja flashed her an appreciative smile. "Aw, haha, that's nice of you to say," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "But I still have a lot to learn about being with another person," he added firmly. "I like you, Sam, but I don't think I'm ready for a girlfriend just yet. I have enough responsibility as it is, and while I care for you, I couldn't give enough of me for you to be happy. I'm just not ready."

Sam nodded. "I understand," she said. While she still had her doubts about Lloyd's inability to be in a relationship, she respected his honesty. If he thought he wasn't right for her, she respected his decision. It wasn't anything wrong with her, rather, it was the way things had panned out that had prompted them to split up. And, honestly, being Lloyd's friend was enough.

"I know Kai is ready to try again with you," Lloyd said. "But you don't have to be. He respects that he has brought this on you all of a sudden, and that you need time to think. He doesn't want to put pressure on you."

He met her gaze. "But he does want to talk to you."

Sam nodded, but did not say anything. She was just trying to let everything sink in, as the events of the past few days had really worn her out, and needless to say, she was overwhelmed by the constant change in her relationship status.

Frankly, she wasn't sure what to think any more.

She liked Kai. That much she knew. But did she want to pursue a relationship with him again?

It wasn't what he had done anymore that concerned her. She had long forgiven him for his mistake. But the real question was: Was he _right_ for her?

"You'll never know unless you try," Lloyd said, breaking her train of thought. "Just give him a chance, Sam. For me, okay?"

Even in her weighed down state, she couldn't help but crack a smile. Lloyd was a good friend, to Kai, _and_ to her.

"I will," she promised, meeting his emerald green irises.

She wasn't sure if she believed in destiny, but for Lloyd, (and for Kai), she would try.

"I'll talk to him after dinner."


	101. Chapter 101

**Hey everyone! I know it's been a long, long time since I've posted a chapter. I've been extremely busy for the past couple months, but I finally found the time to post this lil' chappie. :) Thank you everyone for your patience, and I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story as it's finally beginning to wind down. Don't forget to R &amp; R, and happy early May!**

* * *

"And then Fritz Donegan, with only a minute left, swoops in and destroys the aliens' ship, saving the earth AND the Crystal of Immortality," Jay rambled on, earning several eye rolls from everyone seated at the dinner table.

However, Sam was too preoccupied to fully appreciate the blue ninja's animated retelling of his new comic book.

Across the table, she glanced over at Kai, who was casually poking at his vegetables.

As she had promised Lloyd earlier, she planned to confront the red ninja about his feelings, as well as apologize for unknowingly shutting him down during yesterday's conversation. Even though she could not change the past, she couldn't help but wonder how the outcome might have been different if he had spoken first.

She figured he must've felt that she was watching him, because he eventually glanced up from his plate, his soft brown irises connecting with her pale blue ones.

Immediately, she felt a warmth spread throughout her chest, a familiar sensation she had grown accustomed to upon meeting him for the first time.

She wasn't sure if he knew that Lloyd had spoken with her, but nonetheless, she attempted to smile, in which he returned the smile and nodded, acknowledging her nonverbal communication.

She wanted to make it right, but she didn't know how.

"I swear, that's like the third time you've told me that story today," Cole scoffed, taking another bite of noodles. "And even if what's-his-face was able to do all those things, there's no way he'd be able to save the entire universe in under a minute. It's just not possible."

In the midst of chewing, Jay looked up from his food and shot a glare in his teammate's direction.

"Hey, nothing is impossible for Fritz Donegan," he declared, pointing his fork accusingly the earth ninja.

Cole shrugged before turning his attention back to his dinner, obviously skeptical about his brother's fictitious idol.

"True, Fritz Donegan is a hero," Lloyd piped up. "But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have flaws, and that's what makes him so relatable."

Listening to his pupils' conversation (mainly because he was forced to listen), Sensei couldn't help but contribute to the discussion.

"That is true. Even the greatest of heroes make mistakes," he said. "Though it is only when we learn from them that they are valuable." Sitting next to him, Misako nodded in agreement.

Kai's ears perked up, as the conversation started to become eerily similar to his own situation. He knew his teacher was merely trying to make a point, but the fact that they were practically talking about him and his error in judgement was not all that comforting.

"Uh, may I be excused, Sensei?" he interrupted, pushing his uneaten plate of vegetables to the side.

The martial arts teacher, though surprised by his pupil's request, was not going to stop the fire master from having his time alone if he needed it.

"You may," the older man answered, nodding.

Kai bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you."

And with that, the red ninja stood up and exited the room, the sound of the sliding door to the deck shutting behind him.

Excluding Sensei, who went back to silently sipping his tea, the remaining members at the table exchanged uncertain looks. No one knew why he had been so eager to leave, but considering he had been in a fairly good mood since this morning, his sudden exit was peculiar.

"Uh, should someone go after him, Sensei?" Jay inquired, sharing a worried glance with Nya.

Calmly, Sensei raised his head to meet the curious gazes of his students, who were no doubt concerned for their teammate's well being.

"It is best if we let him be," Sensei said. "I sense there is something on his mind that he needs to sort out."

Meanwhile, Sam's brows remained frozen in their furrowed state. She hoped she had not done anything to offend him. His abrupt exit signaled to her that there must've been something on his mind that was bothering him. True, his desire to leave had not seemed particularly urgent, but she wanted to make sure that he was okay.

Therefore, a few minutes later, as the ninja began clearing the table and Sensei Wu had retired to his room, Sam took the opportunity to finish putting her dishes away. As she passed the table, she studied the sliding door to the deck carefully, noting that the red ninja had still not come back inside yet.

Shifting her gaze between the door and the kitchen, she glanced over at the other ninja, who were occupied with their current conversation and cleaning the table, too distracted to be aware of what she was doing.

Something inside her was pulling her to the door, desperately wanting to follow Kai onto the deck.

Suddenly, in the midst of her thoughts, she sensed a pair of eyes fall and rest on the back of her head, no doubt belonging to one of the occupants in the room. Curious as to who it was, she turned and glanced behind her to find Lloyd, who nodded slowly, giving her a nonverbal nod of encouragement.

She didn't have to explain where she was going, or why.

Taking a deep breath, and sharing one last look with Lloyd, Sam started towards the door, ready to make amends with her brown-haired friend.

Kai was standing on the edge of the deck, elbows folded and resting on the rails of the ship as he stared out at the city, lost in thought.

He hadn't wanted to make such a production out of leaving during dinner, but he had been overcome with such an overwhelming urge to get some fresh air.

They way Sam had smiled at him during dinner - it had stirred an emotion within him, one of longing. More than anything, he wanted to make peace with her. To go back to the way it had been before. To go back to the day in the park when his brothers had been spying on them, the day when they had almost sealed their affections with a kiss. More than anything, he wanted things to be normal between them again but, deep down, he knew that it would never be the same.

While Lloyd had promised him last night that he would talk to her (something he still wasn't sure his teammate had actually done just yet), Kai knew that he had to face the facts. Even if she still liked him - after what he had done, there was no possibility whatsoever that she would want to be with him again.

He was immediately startled by the creaking of footsteps on the deck, making him jump slightly. Curious as to who had followed him, he glanced over his shoulder to see none other than Sam approaching him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she way she was walking towards him came off as shy, almost sheepish, as her head hung timidly over her small frame, and her shoulders were hunched feebly inwards, indicating she had come with a purpose, one she was nervous about confronting.

"Hey," she said, tucking a strand of loose hair over her ear as she made her way towards him.

"Hey," he answered, eyeing her curiously as she mirrored his actions, casually draping her arms over the side rails. "What brings you out here?"

Sam bit her lip nervously as she gazed out at the city, her pale blue eyes reflecting the image of the twinkling lights that shone brightly in the distance.

"I wanted to come talk to you," she said, turning to him.

Kai's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but quickly regained his composure once he realized that she was waiting for him to respond.

"A-About what?" he asked, clearing his throat. Though he figured it was too good to be true, he could feel butterflies fluttering in his stomach.

Sam took a deep breath, gathering enough courage to confess what had been consuming her thoughts since this afternoon.

"About our relationship."

The already-quiet night seemed to become perfectly still as Kai stared at her, completely dumbfounded as he struggled to process her words.

"Our relationship?" he repeated, trying to mask the anticipation in his voice.

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding. "I think I made a mistake."

After a minute or so of silence, the red ninja eventually regained the ability to speak. "What do you mean, Sam?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. "I thought you were happy in your relationship."

It was now Sam's turn to become flustered, realizing that she may have sounded unappreciative of her current relationship status with Lloyd.

"I-I am," she said, her gaze returning to the city. "But there was something missing, and I didn't know what it was, and I have been wracking my brain trying to figure it out…" She paused, her eyelids fluttering closed, as if she was trying to visualize the reason in her mind. "...Until I realized what it was."

Her eyes returned to the red ninja, who held her gaze, feeling himself disappearing into her hypnotic blue irises. "He's not you, Kai."

"He's _not_ me?" he stuttered, taken aback by the sudden turn of events. "What are you trying to say?" She couldn't possibly have been trying to tell him that she still had feelings for him, could she?

Sam swallowed nervously. She didn't know how he'd react. After acting so coldly towards him, she wasn't sure if he would be willing to hear her apology.

"I kept trying to convince myself that Lloyd was the best match for me, but the truth is, I can't stop thinking about you," she admitted, the words spilling out of her mouth uncontrollably. "I care about you, Kai. More than as a friend."

Even though Lloyd had revealed to him that her feelings towards him remained more-than-platonic, hearing her confess them out loud was overwhelming, sending him into a state of total shock and amazement.

"I-I'm assuming you spoke with Lloyd then?" he asked, hearing his voice crack upon mentioning the green ninja.

Sam nodded. "He told me you still had feelings for me, which is why I wanted to apologize for shutting you down yesterday when I told you I just wanted to be friends. Lloyd told me it hurt you, and I'm sorry."

"Sam…" he began, at a loss for words. To think that _she_ would be the one apologizing to him - he could hardly believe it. She truly was a sweet girl, while he had been a beast compared to the blonde-haired beauty.

"...You didn't know," he reassured her. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I hadn't meant for the whole Skylor thing to get out of hand - it wasn't like me to act out the way I did," he said, hanging his head in shame. "She just has a way of making me do stupid things, and the worst part is is that...I don't think I ever loved her like I thought I did," he rambled on. "I had feelings for her a long time ago, but when I saw her last week, I think I was trying to fill a hole that she just couldn't fill."

He lifted his head to look back up at her, and she was instantly greeted by his chocolate-brown orbs, which now shone with sheer remorse and guilt.

"I knew she wasn't right for me, but you know how it is when someone gets the best of you."

Without thinking, images of a familiar blond-haired boy from her past began to flood Sam's subconscious. For her, Kai's words could not have rang truer. "I do," she agreed, nodding.

A moment of silence passed between them, allowing each of them to process what the other had said, before Sam took the opportunity to speak.

"You don't know this about me…" she began, her voice echoing in the tranquil night air, "...but there was someone I knew in high school, who was kind of like how Skylor was to you," she said. "I was completely captivated by him, and I thought he was perfect in every single way, like he could do no wrong."

Kai, whose ears perked up upon hearing about her past, was curious about this so-called person - more specifically, this male individual - with whom she had been infatuated before they had met. "What happened?" his brows furrowing in concern.

Sam's eyes narrowed as she recalled the memory. "He wasn't who he had appeared to be. He ended up cheating on me with someone much younger. Turned out that he had been using me all along, taking advantage of my feelings to boost his ego," she said, a hint of bitterness in her words.

Listening intently, Kai's jaw dropped slightly. He couldn't imagine anyone hurting her like that, let alone someone who knew she cared about them. If that was how the guy treated a sweet, kind, and caring person like her, without any sort of guilt whatsoever, that guy must have been a monster.

"That's awful," he said, his eyes sympathetic.

Sam nodded, looking down at the ground. "Yeah, and the worst part was that even though I had seen the warning signs," she continued, her voice containing a tinge of regret. "I allowed myself to fall for him. But in the end, I broke my own heart."

She couldn't help it, but Sam could feel her eyes start to water as old emotions began to rise within her.

"That's why it hurt when you brought Skylor to the Bounty. I thought you were like that, too," she said, wiping a loose tear from her eye.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand cup her lower chin and gently lift it, forcing her to meet the gaze of the fire ninja, whose brown eyes were now gleaming with compassion and tenderness.

"Listen to me. I would _never_ do that to you. Never, in a million years, would I try to hurt you that way," he said. "You deserve better than that, Sam. You're a beautiful person, inside and out, and no one can ever change that."

"Really?" she asked, her blue eyes twinkling.

Kai nodded firmly. "Absolutely," he said. "If I had known this guy, I would have burnt his you-know-what off," he joked, causing her to giggle.

"You're amazing, and one day, you will find someone who will treat you with nothing but respect, and when you find him, he will shower you with love and affection, because he will realize that he is the luckiest guy in Ninjago, to be with the greatest girl anyone could ever have..." he continued. "...because you deserve that."

However, in the midst of his babbling, he had not realized the distance between them had practically vanished, leaving no more than an inch of space between red ninja and the object of his affection.

Sam could feel the heat radiating off of him as he became lost in his words, which were nothing short of poetic, reciting them as if he been rehearsing them for weeks. They were colorful and beautiful. Most of all, they were about her. Every. Single. Word.

Her blue eyes grew wide as it dawned on her why she hadn't been able to find the missing piece in her relationship with Lloyd. Because she had never been meant to be with Lloyd.

She was meant to be with Kai.

As he had just proven a moment ago, with his artistic expression of emotion, there was no other person who could love her to the extent that Kai did. His passion, his fierce loyalty and commitment to people he cared about were what drew her to him, even if his sudden outburst of emotions could get him into trouble from time to time. He was her fire, her drive to succeed and do better. As demonstrated when she had been learning Spinjitzu, her motivation was lost when Kai was no longer the driving force behind her will to learn the ancient martial art. He evoked a flame within her. He was the match.

Kai's rambling immediately ceased upon realizing how close he was now to her. Without even thinking about it, he had guided her face closer to his and had aligned her lips with his, prepared to kiss her.

The only sound was the soft inhaling and exhaling of air, as they gazed into each other's eyes, neither of them uttering a single word. The lyrical chirping of crickets and the soft rustling of the wind was all that could be heard, an enchanting reminder that they were all alone.

Kai's eyes instinctively flickered down to her lips, which were tempting him to seal the space between them completely. Glancing back up at her sparkling orbs of blue, he gauged her reaction, in which she responded by giving a small smile, a faint blush dusting the apples of her cheeks. Then, as if a magnetic force had pulled him towards her, he leaned in and slowly planted a tender kiss on her soft lips, sampling a taste of strawberry-flavored lip balm.

The second their lips touched, sparks began to fly, the previous tension between them melting away entirely, as Sam's eyes fluttered closed, giving into his amorous whims.

When he finally pulled away, he drew back slowly, gently tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, admiring the rose-colored blush that had overtaken her complexion since their lips had first met. Her pale blue eyes, illuminated by the soft glow of the moonlight, were twinkling with pure joy.

They both knew, within that snapshot of time, the dynamic between them had changed, and they could no longer go back to being just friends.

The rush he had gotten when he had kissed her - it had been the most amazing feeling he had ever experienced, and he would give the world to experience it again and again, for the rest of his life.

There was no doubt about it - she was the one he wanted to be with.

"I'm guessing this means that you'll still wanna go see the movie with me tomorrow?" he teased, chuckling to himself. It wasn't exactly the most romantic way of asking someone out, but considering their current situation, it worked fine.

Sam laughed her beautiful warm laugh, making his heart skip a beat underneath his chest.

"I'd like that," she said, admiring the different shades of brown swirling in his eyes. "A movie sounds absolutely perfect."

* * *

**So Kai and Sam are FINALLY back together! It only took, like, 40 chapters, haha. Don't worry, there are still a few more chapters to come. It depends on my schedule when I decide to post them, but hopefully those will be coming in the near future. As always, thank for your support on this story, especially those who have been following for two years now, practically! Your encouragement and support is greatly appreciated and always gives me the motivation to continue writing, so thank you for that! I hope you are all having a wonderful day, and I will see you in my next chapter! ~measuremesky**


	102. Chapter 102

A half hour had passed since Kai had disappeared out onto the deck.

As everyone had been putting their dishes away after dinner, Jay had noticed that his teammate had still not returned from the outdoors, which was concerning to him, especially after his talk with Kai about Sam. He knew that his brother had been extremely disheartened about the way things had turned out with his significant other, but he was worried that the emotional damage his brother would be permanent, and frankly, he had no idea what to do.

It wasn't until Lloyd had informed him before retiring to his room for the night that Sam had gone out to talk to the red ninja. Observant as he was, he had not failed to notice that the college student had disappeared as well.

He just hoped that everything was going okay for his friends.

In the meantime, while anxiously waiting for Kai to return, the blue ninja and his samurai girlfriend were sitting on the couch watching television, with Jay's arm happily wrapped around her.

"Do you think my brother is okay?" Nya finally asked, turning to the blue ninja. "It was weird that he just ran out like that during dinner."

"I hope so," Jay answered, his gaze shifting warily in the direction of the deck. "He seemed fine when I talked to him earlier. Distracted, maybe, but fine."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Nya couldn't help but chuckle.

"When is my brother not distracted, Jay?" she asked, laughing. "He can't stay focused on anything for a long period of time, unless it's proving himself in battle, of course." The samurai shook her head, smiling to herself at the thought.

Suddenly, the couple was interrupted by the sound of the sliding door to the deck open. Jay and Nya turned their head to see none other than Kai and Sam enter the living area.

"There you two are!" Jay exclaimed as the couple walked in. "I was wondering where you guys went."

It was then that the blue ninja noticed a faint blush dusted both of his friends' cheeks. He studied them more closely, only to notice that his teammate's hand was delicately intertwined with Sam's.

"Oh, uh-" the blue ninja stuttered in surprise, processing what had likely occurred outside since he and Nya had been sitting on the couch.

He redirected his gaze from their hands to watch the red ninja curiously.

"So I'm guessing you two are okay now?" he asked, raising a brow at the couple.

Kai nodded, the twinkle his eyes indicating that, indeed, everything had been sorted out between them.

"Yep, we're good," he said, giving Sam's hand a squeeze. In turn, Sam smiled. She was clearly happy.

"Well, I'm glad you guys worked it out," Nya said, nodding in approval. "I was worried for awhile that it wouldn't be the same between the seven of us again."

"Yeah, it's about time you two made up," Jay interjected. "I mean, how are we supposed to have picnics together if you two are fighting?"

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a fight, Jay," Kai said, running a hand through his hair. "More like a minor misunderstanding."

The blue ninja shrugged, waving his brother's response aside.

"Hey, whatever floats your boat."

"The point is," Nya began, elbowing her boyfriend in the ribs, "you're together now. What've you guys got planned, then? Anything special?"

"Y-Yeah," Jay said, getting the message his girlfriend was trying to send him. "Are you gonna go out or something?"

"Actually," Kai answered, "We were gonna go see a movie tomorrow. Weren't we, Sam?" he asked, turning to the blonde.

"Yep," Sam nodded. "We were gonna see the Lego Batman Movie."

"That should be fun," Nya replied, nodding. "I heard it's a good movie."

"Ha, I've been wanting to see that," Jay remarked, his blue eyes twinkling with enthusiasm. "Maybe we'll join you guys..."

Kai immediately flashed him a warning look that told him that the outing was intended to be jut for the two of them.

"...Just kidding, hehe," he finished, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"And then when you guys come back, we can celebrate, as a family," Nya added, oblivious to the silent exchange between her brother and her boyfriend.

"Sounds great, Nya," Kai answered, giving his sister a nod of approval. "I'm ecstatic that things are normal again.

* * *

After Nya and Jay had retired to their respective rooms for the night, Kai and Sam had taken the couch, spending the remainder of the evening just talking, enjoying their newfound admiration for one another.

"You know, I'm glad things worked out between us, Sam," Kai said, turning to the blonde. "You really are amazing."

Sam shyly lifted her head to meet the red ninja's chocolate-brown irises and felt herself blush at his remark.

"Thanks," she said, awkwardly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Though you're the one who's amazing. I couldn't imagine how you must've felt-keeping everything bottled up like you did, after I told you I didn't think of you that way anymore."

"Oh, stop it," Kai answered, playfully nudging her shoulder. "You didn't know. You were the one who gave me a second chance. Now that's what I call amazing."

Sam felt her blush deepen as she studied his expression curiously.

"I mean, look at me," he continued, "I'm the dork running around in a red pajama suit, fighting snakes and skeletons and whatnot all the time, and you think it's weird for _me_ to want to be with _you_?"

Though he was being facetious, he couldn't contain the large grin on his face as Sam giggled at his comment.

"...That's not true," she said between her bouts of laughter. "Now _you're_ the one who's being dramatic."

Kai's eyes widened, pretending to be taken aback, "Who? Me?" he teased, causing to her playfully nudge him in the arm.

"Yes, you," she said. "You honestly don't give yourself credit. I mean, I'm a college student running around all the time, studying for this and that, pretending I have everything figured out when really, I don't."

He noticed a look of uncertainty flicker over her features as she gazed up at him, her eyes shining with nothing but pure compassion for her spiky-haired friend.

"You're much more to me than a ninja, Kai," she said. "You're a sweet, kind, caring person, who stands up for those he cares about, no matter what the cost," she said. "And that's why I like you. Not because everyone knows you as a hero, but because of who you are on the inside. That's what matters."

She felt her heart skip a beat as she felt his hand quietly slip into him, her words could not have been more meaningful to him, knowing that she saw him as more than one of the ninja who saved the city. She saw him for who he was, beyond his ninja exterior, and besides his teammates, there were not many others who could say they truly knew him as a person. And just knowing that she was one of the select few who did know him tugged on his heartstrings.

"Thank you, Sam. I needed that," he said softly. "It gets hard sometimes you know, with all the training, day in and day out, not knowing when you're next battle is going to be. Not knowing if you or your brothers are going to come back in one piece. None of us know what's going to happen tomorrow. But just knowing that you're here, and you're there for me...it's nice, to know that someone cares for me."

He flashed her a appreciate look, expressing his gratefulness for having such a nice girl to share his feelings with.

He could have continued on with deep conversation with her, but he decided that it was probably time to call it a night, since he didn't want to risk ruining his newfound admiration for one another by spending too much time with her.

"Ah, I think I'm gonna go to bed now," he finally said, stretching his arms above his head as he let out a yawn. "Can't be tired for our movie tomorrow."

Sam couldn't help but smile at his seemingly-smooth antics. Since they had first met, she had found out quickly that Kai was a ham, yet she found his theatrics endearing.

"Same here," she said.

Following his lead, the blonde rose from her seat, grateful as the ninja outstretched a hand to help her up.

When they reached Nya's bedroom, Kai paused, turning to her.

"This was nice," he said, referring to their pleasant conversation on the couch. "We should do this more often."

He flashed her a cheeky grin, causing her to smile.

"I agree," she answered, nodding. Considering they were unofficially together again, her heart fluttered imagining the long-night talks they would inevitably have in the future.

For a moment, an awkward silence hung over the couple. Since they had recognized their feelings for eachother, neither were sure how to conduct themselves around the other person.

Sam felt a blush creep across her cheeks, wondering what she should say or do to properly part ways with her spiky-haired friend.

This was usually where couples in the movies would the evening with a sweet goodnight kiss. She didn't know what he would think if she initiated a small kiss or if that would be too demanding of a thing to do at this point, since they had technically just gotten back together and she wasn't sure if that would be taking things too fast.

"Goodnight, Sam," she heard him say, watching him admire her in the shadows of the hallway, oblivious to the internal battle she was currently fighting within herself.

The soft glow of the moon shining through the window casted shadows, concealing most of the red ninja's outline, however, Sam could not ignore the way his warm brown eyes glittered, making her heart start to pound, urging her to make up her mind.

"Goodnight, Kai."

Another moment of silence passed between them, causing her to grow more uncertain.

However, before she could process what was happening, she felt Kai plant a small peck on her right cheek.

When he pulled away, he studied her closely, gauging her reaction. He smiled, noticing her face grow a deeper shade of pink.

"See you tomorrow."

He gave her a small wave goodbye before he turned and headed to his own room, determined to get a good night's rest before the big movie date.

Meanwhile, Sam stood frozen, watching him as he closed the bedroom door behind him.

"Bye," she breathed softly under her breath. She realized she must've been holding her breath since he had kissed her.

It was now that she finally understood what they had meant by destiny. It was clear to her, by the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, the racing of her pulse when he said her name, and the warm fuzzy feeling residing in her chest, that she was meant to be with him.

Yep, she was deeply fond of Kai Smith. And she had never been happier.


	103. Chapter 103

"Well, it was nice of you to visit, Misako," Cole said as the ninja, Nya, Sensei and Sam stood at the front door of the Bounty. "You should come see us more often."

Murmurs of agreement were exchanged amongst the young people. It was true that Misako was a cool woman to hang out with, even if she was much older than the rest of them.

"Indeed," Sensei said, nodding. "We do enjoy your company, including myself." The older man's blue eyes twinkled. There was no doubt that the torch he had held for her for all of these years had not completely died out just yet.

"And I enjoy your company too, Wu," she said. "It is nice to be a part of a large household from time to time, no matter how hectic it may be." This month had been no exception in terms of chaos, especially since a new person had been added to the equation.

However, Misako was ecstatic to find out from her son that all conflict regarding Sam had been resolved. Before he had went to bed last night, Lloyd had explained to her how he had made up with Kai and how he had promised was no longer going to get in the way of the couple's happiness, as he knew how important she was to him, and deep down all along, he had known that Sam had felt the same. Needless to say, she had been very proud to hear that her son had taken the initiative and had shown his maturity by sacrificing his personal desires for his teammate. Her little boy was growing up quickly.

As they were gathered around the door, Lloyd gently pushed his way towards the front of the group and wrapped his arms tightly around his mother's petite frame in a warm embrace.

"Bye, Mom," he said, resting his face on her shoulder. "It's been real."

The rest of the ninja, the girls and Sensei smiled, seeing the more affectionate side of Lloyd that seemed to only be brought out when he was around his mother.

When he finally pulled away, he noticed the older woman was eyeing him closely.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye, son?" Misako asked, a small smile splayed across her lips.

The group of young people and Sensei broke out into chuckles as the younger ninja was, yet again, the brunt of friendly teasing.

Playfully rolling his eyes, Lloyd leaned in to give his mother a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll miss you."

"Yeah, send us a postcard, will ya?" Jay interjected. "It's not like we have any other people we're waiting to hear from."

Observing his teammates, Kai was instantly reminded of his year-long wait to hear from Skylor. Though, oddly enough, he didn't feel a pang in his chest remembering his former love interest as he had in the past. Instead, he took the initiative to entwine his hand with his new girlfriend and give her hand a delicate squeeze.

Sam shared a smile with the red ninja, as the subtle gesture had caused her to turn and meet his gaze.

"I anticipate you will be returning to your research?" Zane's voice echoed as the blonde's attention was redirected back to the older woman's departure.

Misako nodded. "There is much more to learn," she said. "In the past month I have only deciphered about thirty scrolls."

Jay scoffed. "_Only _thirty?" he repeated. "That's twenty nine more than _Cole _could read."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" the earth ninja demanded, whirling around to face his teammate.

"I believe Jay is suggesting you're illiterate," Zane interjected matter-of-factly.

Cole's eyes widened in surprise, processing what his brother was saying before his look of disbelief was replaced by a look of pure annoyance.

"Says you, Jay, considering you only read comic books, which are mostly made of _pictures_, may I remind you?" he retorted, placing his hands on his hips authoritatively.

"Hey, a picture makes a thousand words," Jay answered, a small smirk teasing the corner of his mouth. "Which is way more than what's in your vocabulary."

Cole opened his mouth to respond before realizing he did not have a good comeback. Instead, he threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Really? All I've been doing is sitting-"

"Standing," Jay interrupted, causing his black-clad teammate to shoot him a glare.

"-standing here, minding my own business, yet somehow you choose to make fun of me?"

"Hey, it's the only thing I can do," the blue ninja replied, playfully averting his eyes in an antagonistic manner.

Sensei, observing the banter amongst the brothers, decided it was time to intervene before things got too out of hand.

"Alright, boys, that's enough," he said. "It is time to say our goodbyes to Misako, now."

The older man returned his attention to the grey-haired woman and smiled. "Please come visit us again soon."

Misako mirrored his warm expression and nodded. "I will." She then flashed the young people an appreciative look before turning to leave.

"Bye, Lloyd. Bye, everyone," she called behind her.

The rest of the group echoed their goodbyes before Misako gently shut the door behind her, leaving the Bounty until her next visit.

"Ah, I think I'm gonna head to the comic book store today, if anyone wants to join me," Lloyd said, stretching his arms out in front of him. Though he wouldn't admit it, he thought he could use a distraction to help the ease the letdown of his mother leaving.

"I'll join ya, Lloyd," Jay piped up. "I wanna see if they have the newest issue of Daffy Dill yet."

The rest of the young people exchanged amused looks at the mention of the juvenile comic book character. Though Jay often insisted that he was not obsessed with the fictitious figures of his childhood, they knew differently.

"And we have a movie to go to," Kai added, giving Sam a playful nudge.

Sam smiled. "We sure do," she said. "And this time, I'll pay."


	104. Chapter 104

When they arrived at the theater, Sam immediately recognized the familiar entrance to the building. She felt it had been so long since the last time she had come to see a movie with Kai, yet it only had been a few weeks. With everything that had happened in between that time, it was giving her extreme deja vu.

This was where she has gone with him on their very first date, days after she had first met him.

Her train of thought was broken as the red ninja, who had been walking beside her, let go of her hand and raced in front of her to hold the door open for her.

"After you, miss," Kai teased, motioning for her to go inside.

Sam smiled, uttering him a thank-you before walking through the door, with the him following behind her. She was amused by his theatrics, especially when he was intentionally being flirtatious.

As Sam had noticed, Kai was in an extremely good mood. While it was safe to assume it was because they were going out again, to Kai, it meant much more than that. After they had reconciled their relationship, he felt as though a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders, a weight he had been carrying for quite some time.

The surprisingly short line was also a plus as they made their way to the ticket counter.

When they reached the front of the line, Sam turned to Kai.

"I'll pay for the tickets," she said.

Kai opened his mouth to protest, as he started to pull out his own wallet from his pant pocket, however, before he could act she had already handed the ticket-holder a twenty.

"Lego Batman will be in theater eight, to your right," the ticket holder explained as he handed her their tickets.

"Thanks," the couple answered in unison, except, though being polite, Kai had something else on his mind.

As they walked into the movie theater lobby, the red ninja turned to Sam.

"You didn't have to pay," he said. "You know I'd gladly pay for you."

Sam smiled. As she already knew, Kai was very considerate.

"I just figured that since your job is your ninja training, and I have been working for a few weeks now, I should take the some of the burden off," she explained. "It's the least I could do for you guys for letting me stay with you."

Kai nodded, yet he was still unconvinced. He understood where she was coming from, but he was the one who had taken her out, and after all the trouble he had caused, he felt it was his responsibility to meet her needs and not the other way around.

"Fine," he relented. "But you gotta let me pay for the snacks."

It was Sensei's money anyways, therefore, if it was in his possession, he felt he should make good use out of it.

"Deal."

Thankfully, the snack line was not as long as Kai remembered it being the last time. Despite the Saturday afternoon business, getting around the theater was pretty painless. It may have helped having a sweet young woman by his side to help distract him from his tendency to hate large, crowded places.

When they reached the front of the line, Kai turned to Sam.

"Do you want the small, medium, or the deluxe size popcorn?"

Sam thought for a moment. Considering they hadn't eaten lunch prior to their outing, she figured she felt hungry enough to eat a large bucket of popcorn.

"How about we get the deluxe?" the blonde replied. "We can take the rest back to the others if they want some."

"Good idea," Kai answered. "Cole would probably eat it in a heartbeat." He playfully rolled his eyes at the reminder of the earth ninja's huge appetite. "Though I wouldn't put it past Jay to eat a ton of popcorn either."

After they went through the line, the couple headed to their designated theater, carrying their massive amount of popcorn.

"When they said deluxe, they meant it," Kai remarked, noting how difficult it was to see in front of him as he awkwardly carried the ginormous bucket. "At least it's not toilet paper." Gods knew he never wanted to go through _that_ ever again.

When they reached the theater, they (more so Sam) found a couple of empty seats in the top row, perfect for an action-packed movie like the Lego Batman Movie.

"What luck," Kai commented as he settled down in his seat. "The First Spinjitzu Master must be on my side today."

Like all good couples, he and Sam took turns passing the bucket of popcorn to one another, as they began to happily munch away on the buttery snack, enjoying each other's company as the previews played in the background.

Before they knew it, however, the lights began to dim, signaling the start of the movie.

As the theater grew dark, Kai became increasingly aware of the fact that this was the first time that he and Sam had been out since their dinner date, right before things had gone downhill.

He glanced over at Sam, who was seemingly oblivious to his gaze as he admired her stuff a handful of popcorn into her mouth, clearly enjoying herself. Enjoying being out with him.

"Hey," he whispered.

In the midst of reaching for another handful of popcorn, Sam turned to look at him, her blue eyes full of question.

"I'm glad we did this."

Sam gave him a small smile. "Me too."

For a second, he debated whether or not he wanted to wrap his arm around her, worried that she might not like it.

However, all concerning thoughts of his vanished when he felt her lightly rest her head on his shoulder.

A warmth spread throughout his chest, seeing that she was glad to be with him. And, as long as he made her happy, that's all that mattered.

He rested his head on hers, her silky blonde hair providing as a cushion as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. A part of him hoped that the movie would never end, so they could stay like that forever.


End file.
